


Take Care of You

by prettyyoongi



Category: GOT7, 방탄소년단 | Bangtan Boys | BTS
Genre: M/M, but like...heavy side pairings okay?, but not in a sad way just in a way that taehyung is a fuckboy who wants to get his dick wet, mainly jikook, mentions of mpreg, mpreg is a thing here i feel like that needs to be said in two tags, onesided vmin - Freeform, side everyone else
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2017-03-10
Updated: 2017-05-27
Packaged: 2018-10-02 08:24:04
Rating: Not Rated
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 6
Words: 31,530
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/10213481
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/prettyyoongi/pseuds/prettyyoongi
Summary: When one of his classmates recommends working as a cocktail waiter at the strip club, Jimin thinks it's the solution to his financial problems. All he wanted was quick and easy money, he didn't expect to fall for the barback with a nice smile and even nicer biceps.





	1. I Met Him At The Strip Club

“Did you hear about the new cocktail waiter? The one who starts tonight? I heard he’s really good looking.” Taehyung asks as sets up his bar. He arranges the bottles in the speed rack the way he likes so that he doesn’t even have to look down at it when making drinks.

Jungkook, his barback, only hums in response as he makes a mental list of every bottle the bartender needs. It seems like he’s pretty set, but Jungkook wants to make sure that he has backups ready in case it gets busy.

“We have new waiters in and out every weekend, Tae.” The other man mumbles as he straightens his shoulders.

“No, but I heard this guy is super fucking cute.”

“Aren’t they all?”

“Yeah, but... _for real_.” Taehyung insists with a laugh and Jungkook rolls his eyes. “Maybe I’ll try to bang him.”

“They’re all cute at first, Tae. He’ll lose his charm after a week when new meat comes in. You need to quit getting your dick so dirty and chill the hell out.”

In all fairness, Jungkook really has no idea just how cute Park Jimin is.

  
  


The meeting before the shift is always the same: the staff is lectured about their drinking, the managers yell about sales, they make up some ridiculous rule that doesn’t even last an hour into the shift, and the vets have to deal with another hoard of newbies to train.

“Jimin, you’re training with Mark.” Jackson, one of the managers, says as he waves Jimin towards a pretty brunette with looks that Jimin thinks could rival his own.

The man, Mark, rolls his eyes and lets out a huff before standing up and slinging his backpack over his shoulder. He uses his tray to point to Jimin and nods towards the door.

“Whatever, let’s go.” He mumbles, purposefully avoiding the eyes of the manager.

“Yien-” Jackson starts, but he’s cut off immediately by the veteran waiter.

“Fuck off, Jiaer.”

A few of the waiters who have been working at the club for a while now make ‘ooh’ noises and Jimin tries not to appear to be too lost when the manager stares the waiter down.

“Don’t talk to me like that at work.” Jackson growls and Mark rolls his eyes again.

Jimin wonders if the two of them are close because there’s absolutely no way in hell that he’d even dream of talking to his manager like that or even show any sort of disrespect to someone above him. He doesn’t have too much time to dwell on it, though, because Mark is using his tray to push Jimin towards the door.

“Let’s go get changed, you have a lot to learn and I’m not in the mood.” Jimin follows Mark through the club to the back where there is a long hallway leading to a door with a large Employees Only sign on it. “This is the locker room, you’ll get a locker assigned to you, but for tonight you can keep your stuff in mine.”

Mark leads him through the maze of lockers until they reach the back corner of the room to the one that has the elder’s name written across the top of it in permanent marker. When he opens it, Jimin makes a mental note of all of the photos decorating the locker of his trainer with the manager he’d mouthed off to during the meeting.

“Who do I ask about the lockers?” Jimin asks softly, just to fill the silence, as Mark pulls his shirt off. He tries not to stare, but he can’t help it when the other changes so shamelessly in front of him. He sees a quick flash of the scar running along the bottom of the other waiter’s flat stomach, but decides not to ask about it.

“You’ll ask Namjoon, he’s the bar staff manager. He’s the one who usually deals with anything pertaining to the wait staff and bar staff.”

“Oh. If he’s the bar staff manager, why wasn’t he in the meeting?” Jimin asks dumbly and Mark shrugs.

“His schedule is like that, he doesn’t come in until later. Jackson always holds the shift meetings on Wednesdays and Thursdays.”

“Oh.” Jimin wants to ask about the relationship between the two, but his thoughts are interrupted by another very pretty man walking up to them and shoving Mark playfully. Seriously, where are all of these good looking people coming from? Jimin supposes this is what he should expect considering he’s in a _strip club_ where people are literally throwing money at you based purely on your looks, but still, he can’t remember the last time he’d seen so many pretty faces at once.

“Hey, I heard you have an attitude today.” The man sings, his lack of clothing leads Jimin to the conclusion that he must be a stripper.

“Ugh, I don’t even! Jackson just pissed me off before work and now I have to train when I just want to go home.”

“What did he do this time?” The man asks before glancing at Jimin. “Oh, new meat. Who are you?”

“This is Jimin, he’s a new cocktail.” Jimin wonders if Mark purposefully avoids answering the question about Jackson because he’s there.

“With an ass like that you should be a dancer.”

“Seokjin, shut the fuck up.” Mark growls and the trainee laughs.

“Actually, until 2AM I’m Jin, not Seokjin, get it right.” Seokjin snorts and holds out a hand. “Nice to meet you, Jimin. If you need anything let me know.”

Jimin nods and glances around the room as the three of them fall into silence.

“Are you going to change or what?” Mark asks after a few moments and Jimin jumps in surprise.

“Oh, yeah! Sorry...is there a bathroom or something where I can change?”

The two men look at him as if he’s lost his mind, but the dancer points to a door in the corner of the room.

“Yeah, you can change in there, but it’s fucking _dirty_.”

“I’ll just be a minute.” And with that Jimin practically runs to the bathroom to change.

  
  
  
  


Shadowing Mark is kind of fun, Jimin thinks. The waiter knows everyone in the club from the customers to the dancers and everyone seems to like him. Jimin wonders if he’ll ever become that comfortable in a place like this; part of him hopes so, but another part of him doesn’t want to get too comfortable working in a strip club of all places. They’re standing in the well at the VIP bar and Mark is spouting off his drink order to the bartender, Taehyung, so fast it’s hard for Jimin to keep up. What’s even more amazing is that the bartender can actually remember and make the drinks at the same pace the waiter calls them out to him. To Jimin it just looks so _cool_.

“Okay, Mark, where is all of this going?” Taehyung asks, as he glances down at the large order of drinks.

“Two crowns, a domestic, an import, and a bottle of water on Hyunjoon. Four vegas bombs, two starfuckers, an espolon, and an import on Junho. The sour patch kid and the other starfucker are cash.”

Before Taehyung even tells him the total, Mark has his hand outstretched towards the man with the money ready. To say Jimin is in awe is an understatement.

“You didn’t even have to write any of that down!” He practically screams, earning a laugh from the other man.

“Yeah, eventually you can remember everything without having to write it down...but it’ll take some time, so don’t forget to get a guest check tablet from that drawer in the bar staff’s office. You remember where I showed you? You’ll need that when you work your first shift alone. C’mon, let’s go.”

Jimin finds that the more Mark works, the more friendly he becomes. His mood seems to have increased significantly since the start of the shift which works in Jimin’s favor. However when the two of them reach one of the man’s tables to find Jackson sitting and conversing with one of Mark’s regulars, it seems as if he take ten steps back into his anger from earlier. Instantly the veteran waiter’s face falls into a scowl and as Jimin observes the two of them, he realizes that they’re still fighting.

“Hyunjoon-ah, let me buy you a shot.” Jackson says as Mark places the drinks the man had ordered earlier on the table.

“We just ordered these, man.” The customer replies with a laugh and Jackson waves a hand in the air.

“Just take those and then we’ll order another round right now. What are you drinking? Crown?” When Hyunjoon nods, Jackson grins. “Okay, Mark, get us three crowns. Jimin do you want anything?”

All eyes turn to Jimin and the pink-haired man turns bright red, he’s never been more thankful for dim lighting in his life.

“I’m okay, I’m not really a big drinker…”

“Oh, do you want a red bull or anything? We have the flavored ones, I like the blueberry one the best.” Jackson’s smile is flirty and even though Jimin isn’t one hundred percent positive of the relationship between his trainer and the manager, he knows that it’s not wise to flirt back.

“Uh...I mean-”

“Get him a red bull or something.” Jackson says, any trace of a smile gone when he turns his attention to Mark. “Ask Tae and Jungkook if they want anything to drink, too.”

“What about Mark?” Hyunjoon asks and said waiter smiles at him for that.

“He’s not allowed to drink tonight.” The manager says bluntly and the customer raises his eyebrows in response.

All Jimin can think is about how awkward the situation is as he follows Mark back to the bar. The brunette isn’t faring well from the encounter, Jimin can tell because his hands are shaking and he keeps rolling his bottom lip in between his teeth. He looks downright angry and it’s scary, but he holds his tongue in fear of making things worse.

After Taehyung finishes his order, Mark practically shoves the blueberry redbull into Jimin’s chest before stomping off to the table to drop the shots off, not even bothering to wait for the rookie, and slamming the glasses down onto the table in front of the customers. Before anyone can even say a word to him, he’s storming his way back to the bar.

“Can I stay at your place tonight? I’m going to sneak out of here without Jackson noticing.” Jimin hears Mark ask Taehyung as he comes up behind him.

“Yeah, dude. We can have a chill smoke sesh, if you want.” The bartender smirks before glancing over at Jimin. “Do you smoke?”

“Oh, no! If you think about all of the things that they put in cigarettes-”

“Not cigarettes, Jimin. I meant do you smoke bud?”

“I’m sorry?”

“Clearly he doesn’t.” Mark laughs. Jimin’s confusion brings a smile to his face and to be honest the younger man prefers happy Mark over angry Mark, so he lets himself be the butt of the joke. “He’s talking about weed.”

“Oh! Heavens, no, I’ve never tried it before.”

“Do you want to try it? I mean, you don’t have to if you don’t want to, but you’re more than welcome to come chill with us after work. Usually a few of us will get together and hang out for a bit at my place.” Taehyung offers.

While Jimin is not the type to do drugs or drink alcohol, he does think it might be nice to make new friends. So while he knows that he’ll stick out like a sore thumb in this group, he nods his head anyway.

“Yeah, okay, I’ll come.”

“Awesome! Mark can ride with you, then? I can drive him if you can’t, but Hoseok and I came in the two-seater today so I don’t want to make them lap it if they don’t have to.”

Jimin glances at Mark with a smile and nods.

“Okay, yeah. Sure.”

“Cool! They live right down the street from me, too, so if you want to leave whenever, you can. I can walk to my place in the morning.”

  
  
  


The shift seems to pass by a lot quicker after making plans with the others and Jimin can’t even deny it that he’s more than a little excited to have been invited to hang out with his co-workers on his first night.

He’s standing with Mark in the locker room as the other man changes back into a pair of sweatpants and a loose tank top. He’s trying once again to not stare at the other when one of the dancers makes his way over to them. Jimin remembers the man being introduced to him as Hoseok, J-hope while he’s dancing, and one of Taehyung’s roommates.

“Hey, I heard you guys are coming over!” The man exclaims, way too energetic for it being three in the morning.

“Yeah, I have to sneak out of here before Jackson catches me.”

“You’re not going to tell him you’re leaving?” Hoseok asks with a tilt of his head and the older man rolls his eyes.

“No, Jimin and I are sneaking out. We’ll meet you at your place?”

“Yep! Tae and I are going to head out right now, you can give him directions, right?”

Mark nods at that and waves goodbye to the other.

“Ready?” He asks, earning a nod from Jimin. “Okay, lead the way to your car, then!”

Jimin does as he’s told, leading the older man to his white BRZ. He feels a swelling of pride in his chest when Mark whistles at the car and runs a hand along the side of it.

“She’s my baby.” Jimin says shyly as he unlocks the door and slips into the car.

“She’s fucking nice. I wanted a little coupe for the longest time, but I had to get an SUV in the end.”

Jimin makes a face at that.

“Why would you want an SUV?” He asks and Mark smiles back at him with a shrug. He quickly types in Taehyung’s address into Jimin’s GPS before speaking.

“Well, it just made sense, I guess. We needed something practical and Jackson already has an i8, which is super ridiculously overpriced especially because we hardly drive it, so we decided to get an SUV for when we do family stuff.”

“Okay, so are you guys, like, dating or something?” Jimin asks, finally feeling comfortable enough to bring it up after wondering all night.

“Yeah, isn’t it obvious?”

“Well, I figured something was going on. I just wasn’t too sure, I guess.”

“Yeah, dude, we’ve been together for four years now.”

“Oh, wow.” Jimin hums. “Why are you guys fighting, then? If you don’t mind me asking.”

Mark sighs at this, turning his head to look at Jimin with a sad smile.

“Just...stupid things that we shouldn’t even be arguing about. So basically, our roommates are watching our son tonight and they told us to go out for dinner before work together since we never have time alone, but then at dinner we got into an argument over him working so much and never being around. The other day our son called our roommate ‘dad’ and it was super awkward because for one thing Jaebum, the one Aiden called dad, is Jinyoung’s boyfriend and Jinyoung is my best friend. The other thing is that Jackson makes a huge deal about Aiden and I being closer because I’m the one who had him, but if he just put in a little more effort to be around then they could be close, too. He’s just being so immature and to top it all off, when we fight he acts like a child. Usually he’s really goofy and childish and I like it, I think it’s funny, but when we fight it’s like... _grow the fuck up, dude,_ we have to be in each other’s lives forever even if we break up. Stop being so immature.”

“You had a kid?” Is all Jimin takes away from the story, causing Mark to snort and nod his head. Jimin remembers the scar from earlier and suddenly it all makes sense. “Wow, you look really good.”

“Thanks.”

“Do you think you going to someone else’s house is going to make him even more mad, though?”

Jimin thinks it’s all a little strange that the two of them are playing games like this with each other, especially when there’s a child involved. He keeps those thoughts to himself, though, because the last thing he wants to do is upset his new coworker and ruin their chances of becoming friends.

“I mean, yeah it’s kind of dumb, but I never get to have any time to myself anymore. It’s like...I’m always taking care of Aiden, which is great because I love him to death, but I never get to go out like Jackson does. He says he’s ‘working’ and ‘promoting’, but all he’s really doing is going out to clubs in a Cypher Men’s Club tee shirt and getting drunk with some of our promoters. He literally only sees the fun parts about being a parent, he’s never the one to change diapers or to have bath time or deal with the temper tantrums. So now it’s almost four in the morning, my kid’s asleep with our roommates, I usually don’t get to bed until five or six, anyway, and I just want to hang out with my friends.” As Mark says all of this Jimin pulls into the driveway of Taehyung’s home. “Come on, let’s go inside.”

The outside of the house is impressive, but the inside is outrageous. It’s overwhelmingly large and Jimin can just tell that all of the art and decor has to be expensive. He almost feels afraid to touch anything, but at the same time wants to run his fingers along everything. When Taehyung mentioned smoking at his house earlier, Jimin thought it would be a modest one story in a middle class neighborhood, this was unexpected and it reminds Jimin of his parents’ home for a moment.

“This place is huge.” He mumbles out, glancing around the living room as he takes a seat on one of the couches next to Mark.

“Yeah, this area is super expensive, but there are, like, five people living here so it’s pretty cheap for all of them. Jackson and I live down the street, literally.”

There’s a bang from the top of the stairs before Hoseok is coming down the steps, two at a time, with a huge smile on his face. How is he so energetic? Even after working all night in the smoky club, no doubt sweating from all of the dancing, and changing into just a pair of sweatpants and a t-shirt, Hoseok looks gorgeous and radiates an energy that Jimin could only describe as pleasant.

“Hey! Tae is just changing and Jeon is on his way home, apparently he had to stop at Seokjin’s place to pick up some shit.” Hoseok says this as he bends down in front of the entertainment system, pulling out a small bag of what Jimin can only assume is the ‘bud’ that Taehyung mentioned earlier, and a glass pipe. He nods towards Mark as he packs a bowl and grins. “You got greens, babe, I know you’re in a shit mood.”

“Thanks, you’re always so good to me. Let’s just ditch our men and run away together.”

Hoseok laughs out loud at that and presses the edge of his lighter into the bowl before handing it over to the brunette on the couch.

“Good thing Yoongi is asleep, I’ll go pack my bags and then we can run off into the night.”

Jimin watches in awe as Mark lights up and inhales the smoke. He doesn’t even cough when he pulls the pipe away from his lips, turning his head to the side as he exhales after a moment, and relaxes into the couch. When he offers the pipe over to Jimin with a smile, the younger man hesitantly takes it and stares at the two of them with confusion written across his face.

“You don’t have to if you don’t want to. I don’t want you to feel pressured or anything. Just thought you might want to try since you said you’ve never smoked before.” The eldest in the room says with a grin. “If not Hobi will gladly take the next hit.”

“You’ve never smoked weed before?” Hoseok looks shocked and Jimin rolls his eyes.

So what if he’s never smoked before? He grew up in a strict religious home where he was taught to follow every rule set in place and for the longest time Jimin associated drugs and alcohol with bad people. It wasn’t until he was kicked out for being gay that the younger man even tried a sip of alcohol. He shudders at the thought of his bible-thumping mother and father and lets out a sigh. He’s going to smoke, damn it, and he hopes that they feel it in their heart that the son they once thought was perfect is doing something so bad.

“What do I do?” He asks and Hoseok quickly makes his way to the couch to sit next to him.

“Here, I’ll light it, you just take a deep breath in, okay? Don’t overdo it because if you’ve never done it before you’re going to have a coughing fit and I feel like after just one hit you’re gonna be really high. This is some good shit.”

He’s right, Jimin inhales too much too quickly and chokes hard. Mark is quick to run to the kitchen and grab a water bottle for the boy while Hoseok lightly pats him on the back. It’s then that Taehyung comes down the stairs, as well, and lights up at the sight of Jimin on the couch.

“Oh, you came!” He smirks and Jimin nods as he chugs down the entire bottle of water. His throat is on fire and as much as he wants to greet Taehyung properly, it fucking _hurts_. “Whoa, is he okay?”

“Yeah, we just gave him a hit and he’s not used to smoking, so…” Hoseok smiles brightly at Jimin and the smaller man smiles back.

He wonders if the rest of them are judging him for being so uncool, but with the way they’re all smiling at him and trying their best to make him comfortable, he thinks that they’re probably just concerned.

“They didn’t force you to do it, right? Because if they did, I’ll kick their asses.” Taehyung grins as he takes a seat on the couch across from the one Jimin, Hosoek, and Mark are sitting on. When Jimin shakes his head Taehyung gives him a thumbs up. “Cool, don’t do anything you’re not comfortable with. Just because we smoke doesn’t mean you have to. You can just chill, we’re fun to be around sober or not.”

“I’m okay, I’ve always heard about it, so I wanted to try.” Jimin blushes and Hoseok coos, reaching out to pinch the younger man on the cheek.

“Cool. Everything good with you and Jackson?” Taehyung asks as he takes the pipe from Hoseok and just like the other two he smokes so effortlessly as if he’s been doing it his whole life.

“Eh, we’re still fighting. I bet he’ll be calling me in an hour when he realizes that I didn’t get a ride home.”

“Just as long as none of us get in trouble for housing the refugee.” Hoseok mumbles under his breath and Mark gives him the finger. “Hey, Jimin, do you have a boyfriend...or a girlfriend, if that’s what you’re into? I really need to stop assuming that everyone who works with us is gay just because they work at a gay club.”

“Oh, no, I’m- Yeah, I’m gay.” Jimin says softly, rubbing the back of his neck. “But no I don’t have a boyfriend. I, uh, I’ve only ever had one boyfriend and...that didn’t work out.”

Jimin doesn’t miss the smirk Taehyung sends his way and he has to try his hardest to fight the blush that creeps up his cheeks.

“Did you see anyone cute tonight at work? Anyone you’re interested in?” Mark asks with a smirk and Jimin whines softly, burying his face in his hands.

“There was someone who I thought was really cute. I didn’t get his name, though, I didn’t even talk to him.”

“Was it a customer?” Hoseok asks with furrowed brows. “Because let me tell you something, you don’t ever want to date a customer who comes into the club. We live in a fantasy world the second we walk into the door and the customers are paying for that fantasy. Think of it like this: they like the idea of you, but they don’t actually want to get to know the real you and the fact that they have to pay someone to spend time with them should tell you a lot about them.”

“Oh, no, no, I would never. _No_. Not a customer. I don’t know who he was, he was behind all of the bars tonight, but he wasn’t bartending. He was just stocking stuff and messing around with everyone. He was wearing a white tee and skinny jeans. His arms were so nice, like...the most beautiful arms I've ever seen. I just wanted to grab his bicep and bite it. Is that weird?" Jimin may or may not have a thing for men with nice arms. "Do you know who I’m talking about?”

Taehyung lets out a loud groan and slaps a hand to his face while Mark and Hoseok fall into a fit of laughter.

“ _Fucking Jungkook_. Of all people, I swear, he always gets the cute ones.” Taehyung whines with a shake of his head. “I get it, Kookie is hot. Whatever. My heart is crushed, no big deal.”

“Taehyung totally wanted to get in your pants.” Mark whispers not-so-subtly. “You’re talking about the barback, right? Why am I even asking? Of course you are. Everyone has a crush on Jungkook at some point.”

And as if the world wanted to give Jimin the biggest ‘ha ha, idiot’ possible, the sound of a key unlocking the door fills the living room and none other than the handsome barback in question comes strolling in. He throws his backpack on the couch next to Taehyung and kicks off his shoes before falling sideways into Taehyung’s lap.

“Ugh, fuck tonight. Fuck tonight so hard. I had the worst night ever.” He mumbles as he intercepts the pipe going from Hoseok to Taehyung. “And fuck you guys for starting without me.”

Jimin’s stomach does flip flops and he swears he has tunnel vision because all he can see is the brunette laying across the couch with his head in Taehyung’s lap. If Mark, Hoseok, and Taehyung looked cool smoking before, Jimin thinks Jungkook looks stunning.

Is he high? Is this what it feels like when someone smokes too much? Because Jimin finds Jungkook so attractive that it has him laughing hard enough to clutch his stomach.

“Someone has the giggles.” Mark laughs, reaching out to run his fingers through the other’s hair.

“Jimin thinks you’re hot.” Taehyung says obnoxiously to Jungkook which makes the barback finally sit up and make eye contact with the man in question. He smiles at Jimin before shoving Taehyung hard and rolling his eyes.

“Shut up, you’re so annoying.” He mumbles, but all Jimin can think of how nice Jungkook’s smile is. “I got a few blue maseratis for Sunday, by the way.”

“Is that what you went to Seokjin and Namjoon’s for?” Hoseok asks and Jungkook hums in response. “How many did you get?”

“I got, like, ten of them.”

“Why the fuck did you need ten?!” Hoseok is laughing just as hard as Jimin now, so the younger man doesn’t feel as bad for finding the situation so funny even if he has no idea what’s going on.

“In case you guys wanted to do it with me.”

“Ten, though? There are only five of us in the house.”

“Well, sometimes when you peak you gotta take another one to keep the roll going.”

“What is he talking about?” Jimin asks as he leans into Hoseok, he’s honestly so lost in the conversation and he doesn’t know if it’s because he’s inexperienced or just dumb.

“He’s talking about ecstasy.”

“Ecstasy? Oh my goodness, you guys are hardcore.” Jimin giggles at his own words and Mark snorts.

“E isn’t that hardcore. We’re not shooting up or anything crazy like that.” Taehyung tells him as he stands. “Okay, I have to take a rowdy shit, you guys. If I’m not back in twenty minutes, I’m not coming back at all. Mark, you’re staying the night, right?”

“I don’t know, maybe. It depends on how mad Jackson gets when he realizes I’m not home.”

“Okay, you know where all the blankets and shit are. Jimin, you can stay the night, too, if you want. Mark can show you where everything is and if he doesn’t then you can come to my room. It’s upstairs, first door on the left.”

As soon as Taehyung is upstairs and they hear the door close, Hoseok laughs.

“Dude he totally wants to fuck you. He got so jealous when you said you thought Jungkook is cute. Don’t worry, though, he’ll get over it. He’s always sticking his dick somewhere new, he’s such a fuckboy.”

“I’m telling you, the Jeon effect is _real._  Everyone has a crush on Jungkook at some point. _Everyone_.” Mark laughs before taking another hit and this time he coughs, making Jimin feel just a little less lame than he did before. “Even I had a crush on Jungkook at one point.”

“You were already dating Jackson when I met you!” Jungkook cries as his face heats up.

“So? You were hot! Now that I know you, I totally don’t think you’re that cute anymore. Jimin, though...I think you two would make a cute couple.”

“We literally just met, stop making us uncomfortable.” Jungkook deadpans as he pulls his cellphone out to distract himself. Jimin can see a light shade of pink dusting his cheeks and he finds it so damn cute he has to hold in a squeal. He can tell that the barback is embarrassed and he wonders why because Jimin is the one who’s being called out, not Jungkook.

“You know when Jackson and I started dating, he was still just a barback.”

“Ugh, I definitely don’t want to start a relationship that turns into what you and Jackson have.”

“Didn’t Namjoon start off as a barback, too?” Hoseok offers and Jungkook snorts.

“Are you implying that Jimin is going to turn into a dancer, then?”

“Please, I would hardly call what Seokjin does dancing.” Hoseok laughs from his belly. “He just walks around the stage and poses or grinds on the pole, he doesn’t fucking dance.”

“He still makes a shit ton of money, though.” Mark chimes in with a shrug.

“Well look at him, he’s fucking gorgeous.” Jungkook huffs out. When Hoseok makes a noise in the back of his throat, Jungkook growls. “No, I do not still have a crush on him, shut the fuck up. I think he’s pretty, I don’t want to bone him.”

“Namjoon would literally skin you alive if you did.”

“I’m not afraid of Namjoon, he’s a little bitch.”

Mark is about to say something back to that when there’s a banging on the door. The four of them jump and Jungkook may or may not have let out a very girlish scream.

“Oh my gosh, it’s the cops. They know we smoked marijuana, they’re here to arrest all of us.” Jimin panics and pulls his knees to his chest. This is what he gets for trying to make friends, the cops are going to come and arrest him and he’s going to go to jail for life. Goodbye dreams of finishing school, goodbye any chance at a future he had.

Hoseok makes a face, but stands up and cautiously makes his way to the door. Whoever is outside is _pissed off_ , he can tell just by the incessant banging, but Hoseok knows that if they wake Yoongi up things will be a million times worse. When he glances out of the peephole he nearly breaks the door from opening it so fast.

“What the fuck, Jackson? There are people here trying to sleep!”

“Is Yien here?” The manager ignores the dancer’s words, glancing over Hoseok’s shoulder.

“Who is Yien?” Jimin whispers, mostly to himself, he remembers hearing the name before, but he can’t quite remember who it is.

Mark simply sighs and shakes his head.

“Fuck, that’s me. I didn’t think he’d show up here, I thought he’d at least call first or something.” Mark stands up from his spot on the couch, stretching as he takes a few slow steps towards the front door.

“What the hell are you doing? You should be at home!” Jackson barks in Chinese at his lover.

“Dude, you need to chill. I’m just-”

“Don’t tell me to ‘chill’! You’ve had an attitude all night and when I get home you’re not even there? What is that?”

“Chinese is so intense.” Jimin giggles as he and Jungkook make eye contact. “They both sound so... _intense_.”

“I wish I knew Chinese. I bet I could pick it up really quick.” Jungkook declares as he takes another hit, he doesn’t care if everyone else is done, he’s on a mission to get as high as he can in order to forget the night he’s had.

“ _Yeah, okay_ , ‘cause people just pick up languages so easily.” The smaller man snorts, earning an offended gasp in response. “There are studies that show that as you get older, your ability to learn a new language well decreases.”

“I will have you know that I’m really fucking smart.”

“I’m sure you are.”

The stare at each other for a full ten seconds before both of them burst into laughter.

“I can’t believe you came here and got high with your friends instead of going home to check on our son.” Jackson grunts out in Korean and Mark’s eyes go wide. He opens his mouth, then closes it, then opens it again.

“Uh-oh...wrong words, _wrong words_. Reverse time! Reverse time!” Hoseok panics from behind the couple. He wants to step in and save his friend from the wrath the slender brunette no doubt is about to release on him, but he knows that the verbal ass-whooping Jackson is about to get is well deserved so he stays away in fear of getting caught in the cross-fire.

“Are you joking with me right now? I literally spend every second of my free time with him, don’t you dare make this out to seem like I’m this shitty fucking parent who abandons my son to go get stoned all the time. I was working and I knew that when we got off of work that he’d be sound asleep in his room and that Jinyoung and Jaebum are watching him, so I came here to let off some steam and relax. Unlike you, I-”

“Did my fucking house turn into the set from an over-dramatic fucking TV show?!” A voice growls from the stairs and all eyes turn to the source.

“Shit, baby, did they wake you?” Hoseok asks as he takes a few steps towards the stairs, turning his head only to frown at the arguing couple. They’re in for it now, all of them are.

“No shit they woke him.” Jungkook snorts and earns a glare from the man standing in the stairs.

“Damn, Yoongi, I’m sorry.” Mark whimpers and takes a step back to stand in front of his boyfriend. He may be pissed off at Jackson, but he doesn’t want Yoongi to hit the poor man in the face for disturbing his sleep. It wouldn’t be the first time.

“Why the fuck is Jackson knocking on our door at five in the morning like we owe him money?!” Yoongi roars again as Hoseok comes to stand at the step below him. The small brunette wraps his arms around his lover’s neck and presses a kiss to his temple and it’s actually kind of adorable, despite his frightening demeanor.

Jimin giggles behind his hand.

“Sorry, we were just leaving. I didn’t mean for him to wake you up.” Mark grumbles as he grabs his backpack before hurrying out of the house. He knows better than the upset Yoongi further, so he grabs Jackson by the arm and drags him out, as well.

“Lock the door, Jungkook.” Yoongi bites out before he turns around and stomps back up the stairs.

Hoseok flashes Jungkook and Jimin and apologetic smile.

“He’ll be fine, he just needs a blowjob and some sleep. I’m going to go, uh, handle that. Jimin, you’re definitely not driving like that. Jungkook, you’ll take care of him, right?”

Jungkook nods and Jimin blushes because this all feels like a huge set up. They’ve all been planning to leave him alone with Jungkook since the moment he mentioned that he thought the man was cute. They had to have planned it, Jimin thinks, they just had to.

Said barback turns to him with a grin and when their eyes meet the two of them begin cackling all over again.

“What was all of that?” Jungkook asks, head thrown back and eyes crinkled in glee.

Jimin holds his hands to his face and bites down on his lower lip as his shoulders shake from laughing too hard.

“I don’t even know!”

Jungkook leans in and studies Jimin’s face for a moment before snorting.

“You’re so stoned!”

“I am! I’ve never smoked weed before!” The older man whines and slides down the couch until he’s on the floor. “This is so weird! Don’t make fun of me! It’s not funny! I’m not cool like you guys!”

“Relax, relax. Come on, let’s go to my room. I have ferrero rochers.”

And that’s all that needs to be said before Jimin is springing to his feet, a look of delight donning his face. When in doubt, ferrero rochers will always do the trick to calm someone down. Jungkook has learned this from years of experimenting, so he stands and takes Jimin’s hand before leading the smaller man up the stairs and to his bedroom as quietly as possible. It isn’t until the door is closed behind them that they allow themselves to make any noise.

“Okay-” The brunette starts as he makes his way to his bedside table, picking up a glass jar full of the aforementioned chocolate. “So, my room is the coolest because I have a balcony and it’s really fun to just sit outside and chill when you’re stoned. Come on.”

All Jimin can do is follow because Jungkook is the pro here. His heart melts when the taller man hands him the blanket from his bed and beams at him.

“Here, it’s going to be kind of chilly outside, use this to keep warm.”

He wraps the blanket around his body before shuffling out onto the balcony to join the other and he thinks that maybe this wasn’t such a bad idea after all. The two of them settle down against the glass sliding door and stare out at the backyard. Jimin takes note of the pool and he has to stop himself from actually screaming about just how nice the house is.

“Where are you from?” Jungkook asks as he shoves a piece of chocolate in his mouth.

“Busan.” Jimin whispers as he scoots closer to the other until their shoulders are touching. Jungkook perks up at that.

“Me, too!”

“Really?!”

Jungkook nods enthusiastically and just like that the two of them seem to fall easily into a conversation that starts off about their hometown and somehow leads to why they’d moved to Seoul.

“I came here for school.” Jimin says softly as he licks his lips. “I was going to school in Busan, but then my parents found out I was gay and all hell broke loose. They cut me off completely, so I moved here to try and get a fresh start.”

“Wow, they were that mad about it?”

“Yeah. Super strict religious nuts, that’s my mom and dad.” The pink-haired man mumbles out with a pout. He looks like he’s going to cry, so Jungkook quickly tries to change the conversation topic.

“How did you hear about working at Cypher?”

“One of my classmates is a dancer there. I was telling him about how I’m desperate for money...he told me to be a dancer, but I could never do that.”

“Why not? You’re, like,  _really_ gorgeous.”

Jungkook says it with so much honesty in his voice, as if it’s not just a line used to pick Jimin up, and it makes Jimin go red in the face.

“I mean...I don’t know, there’s nothing wrong with it if someone wants to do that, but I personally wouldn’t want to. I feel like I would be really unhappy with myself if I did that. But cocktailing doesn’t seem to be so bad.” He leans over and rests his head on Jungkook’s shoulder, closing his eyes with a sigh. “What about you? How did you end up working there.”

“Yoongi is my half-brother and Namjoon is our friend from when we were kids.”

“Yoongi is the one who got really mad about the fighting in the living room, right?”

“Yeah! He’s the assistant GM! Namjoon is a manager there, too, he’s the wait and bar staff manager. They got me the job as a barback.”

“Do you like it?” Jimin asks and Jungkook hums in response.

“I mean, it’s cool. I get to watch good looking guys take their clothes off four nights a week, but it’s also stressful. I’m just trying to save up some money for now...I wanted to go back to school, but that’s probably not going to happen.”

“Why not?”

Jungkook shrugs and Jimin can tell that the other doesn’t want to say why, so he just smiles and pokes Jungkook on the nose. This earns a laugh from the younger man as he reaches up to take Jimin’s hand in his. It’s meant to just stop him from poking his face, but Jimin’s hands are so small and fit perfectly into Jungkook’s that the barback doesn’t seem to want to let go. Jimin doesn’t say anything to that, so the two of them find themselves awkwardly holding hands before they even realize it. If it bothers either of them, they don’t say a thing. The two of them fall back into conversation so comfortably it has Jimin’s head spinning.

When the sun starts to rise, Jimin realizes that they’ve been up for far too long, but it’s just so pretty he can’t find it in himself to want to go inside, yet.

“You know, the sunrise in Busan is way prettier. Like, when you sit on the beach and watch...it’s gorgeous.” Jungkook mumbles and Jimin smiles at that.

“Of course I know, you brat. I was born there first, you know?”

Jungkook turns his head to the other, a look of disbelief written across his face.

“Did you really just say that?” He chuckles and it’s so nice that Jimin has to join in.

“Yeah. I did. It’s the truth!”

Jungkook doesn’t know if it’s the way that Jimin is laughing along with him so easily or the sunrise, hell, it may just be because he’s as high as a kite, but he really really wants to kiss the smaller man sitting next to him.

 

 

So he does.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> so okay this fic is just for me to get my writing mojo back because i feel like i've lost it and i wanted to write something super light hearted and happy and whatnot. 
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> [Be my friend on tumblr here](https://prettyyoongi-93.tumblr.com/)
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> also i have no idea how the male strip club works, so for all intents and purposes the club here is set up like a female strip club would be. Dancers on the pole+shit like that. i think male and female strip clubs are different, but i have no experience w the male ones so ...yeah


	2. Laugh With Me

“I’m a slut, I’m officially a freaking _slut_.” Jimin whines into his hands.

He’d woken up earlier than Jungkook and high-tailed it out of the man’s room and house without being detected by anyone else (Thank every god out there for that). The first thing he’d done when he made it to his car was call Mark and that’s how he finds himself in the older man’s living room at 3PM on a Thursday afternoon instead of in class like he should be.

“So what exactly happened? You guys had sex or…?” Mark asks with a smirk as he balances what Jimin thinks could possibly be the most adorable two year old on his lap and holds a banana up to the toddler’s mouth. Jimin snorts when he hears Mark mumble ‘ _c’mon, Aiden, you fatty, stop being shy just because we have a guest, just eat!_ ’.

Jimin thinks back to the night before and blushes, he remembers Jungkook kissing him and then he remembers himself kissing Jungkook back just as eagerly. It started off sweet and gentle, but turned rough quickly with Jimin on his back and his legs spread far apart so that Jungkook could settle in between them. He remembers moaning loud enough for the entire neighborhood to hear and Jungkook grinding against him until the younger man came in his pants. He remembers Jungkook asking for permission before sliding Jimin’s sweatpants down and then, even though Jimin wanted to stay modest (good job with that one, he tells himself), Jungkook’s mouth around his cock with two fingers shoved inside of him. What Jimin remembers the most, though, was afterwards Jungkook offering him the most beautiful smile before carrying him to the bed and tucking him in. Jimin recounts everything to Mark with a pout on his face because even though he knows he should be embarrassed, he actually _really_ liked it.

“Oh, God, it’s not like you two fucked-”

“Language!” Jackson’s voice chimes in as he comes down the stairs and into the living room. He plants a kiss on Mark’s cheek before taking Aiden and the banana from his lover. Mark rolls his eyes, but smiles at the other before leaning back into the couch as Jackson takes their son to the kitchen.

“Anyway, it’s not like you two had sex. You probably hurt poor Jungkookie’s feelings, though, he never fucks anyone. He’s so prude even though everyone that works with us wants to bang him.”

“Oh, God. Of course they do! What if he tells everyone that I’m a slut?”

“Yeah, no, that’s definitely not going to happen. Jungkook doesn’t kiss and tell. He didn’t even tell us when he lost his virginity. We only found out because the guy he lost it to has a psycho jealous boyfriend who came to the club after hours with a bat.” Mark laughs at his own words and Jimin stares at him with wide eyes.

“Did he get beat up?”

“Oh, of course not! Yoongi may seem like a heartless dick, but if you even think about messing with his baby brother he’ll cut you into millions of pieces and feed you to his stupid exotic fish, Namjoon’s the same way. I’ve never seen them pull their guns out on someone so fast in my life!” The elder offers a thumbs up and a smile that’s way too enthusiastic for Jimin’s liking. “Anyway, yeah, the point is that Jungkook doesn’t fuck around and when he does, he doesn’t tell anyone about it. The whole thing with Kyungsoo, the guy I was telling you about, just happened a few months ago and he told us that was the only person he’s ever slept with.”

Jimin finds that hard to believe because Jungkook was way too good at what he was doing to be inexperienced.

“What if he’s lying, though?”

“Nah, I doubt that. Sure, he might not have told us about it right away, but if you ask Jungkook about something he won’t lie about it. He, Yoongi, and Namjoon are all super big on honesty and loyalty. It’s cute.” Mark grins. “Like, he used to have the biggest crush on Seokjin, you remember him? The stripper? That’s Namjoon’s boyfriend and he cried and told Namjoon about it because he couldn’t lie to him when he asked, _but_ he swore on his life that he was never going to act on it because Seokjin is Namjoon’s boyfriend and Namjoon is like a brother to him. It was really funny, but also really cute.”

Jimin wants to laugh at that because even though he isn’t all too acquainted with Jungkook he can imagine the barback doing exactly what Mark had described and he finds it so endearing that he has to bring his hands to his face to suppress a smile.

“So, then, what should I do?”

“Well, do you like him?”

“I don’t know! I just met the guy! I think he’s really hot and from what I’ve seen he’s really sweet, but-”

“But nothing, dude. Just talk to him! Do you work tonight?” Jimin nods in response. “Good, he works Wednesday through Saturday, so he’ll be there. Just talk to him when you get there and make nice with him. Even if you’re embarrassed, you need to make sure things aren’t awkward with him because the two of you work together, you don’t want things to be weird.”

Jimin nods at that and looks down at his hands, he doesn’t even know what he can say to Jungkook at this point. _‘Sorry I fooled around with you and left the next morning without saying anything, but let’s start over?’_ Somehow he doesn’t think that’s the best way to go about the situation. He wishes he hadn’t left the other boy behind this morning, he wishes he’d stayed and talked to Jungkook about everything because now he has no idea how he’s going to approach the barback at work.

  
  
  
  


 

The time comes for Jimin to apologize a lot sooner than he would have liked, more specifically at the end of the shift. He’d successfully avoided speaking to Jungkook all night, instead focusing on taking care of his tables and making sure only to approach the bar he’d been assigned to when Jungkook wasn’t around, but after the end of shift meeting a very intoxicated Mark pushed him towards the VIP area where Jungkook and Taehyung were still cleaning the bar and told him to _‘go get that dick_!’. He stands there silently as the two of them goof off, Taehyung throws napkins at Jungkook and the younger man sprays soda water from the juice gun at his friend. Jimin thinks it’s a bit counterproductive for the two of them when they’re supposed to be cleaning up, but instead of saying anything he just watches.

It isn’t until Taehyung looks up from his poor attempt to dry his shirt off that he notices Jimin standing there.

“Oh, hey, cutie! Didn’t see you this morning for breakfast. Did you leave last night?” He asks and Jimin tenses. Jungkook makes eye contact with him and he reads it immediately in the barback’s eyes: _don’t say a word about last night_. Jimin laughs awkwardly and rubs the back of his head before nodding and offering the both of them a bright smile.

“Yeah...I, uh, I left after Hoseok and Yoongi went to bed.”

“Bummer. You could have stayed over! We have plenty of space, like...my bed for example.” Taehyung winks and Jungkook rolls his eyes at the other before shoving him and mumbling a quiet ‘ _finish cleaning, I want to go home_ ’. Jimin wonders if Jungkook is possibly jealous of the obvious flirting on Taehyung’s end and he feels butterflies in his stomach at the thought.

“Hey, uh, actually...Jungkook, I was wondering if we could talk?” The pink-haired boy doesn’t make eye contact with the man in question and instead stares down at his feet. “Whenever you’re done, if you have time.”

Jungkook sighs before glancing around at the bar, he still has to sweep and mop the VIP bar and then he has to wait for the bartenders to finish counting their tips so he can get his money.

“It’s going to be a while, probably another thirty minutes or so, but if you want to wait we can talk after.”

“Oh...yeah, okay, that’s fine. I think Mark is hanging out in the back office, so I’ll just go hang out with him in the meantime.”

Jungkook nods at that before returning to cleaning and Jimin stands in his spot awkwardly for a moment before turning on his heel and scampering away. Taehyung watches the two of them with furrowed eyebrows, the cogs in head head turning as he tries to put two and two together.

“Did you have sex last night?” He asks and Jungkook looks up at him with horror written all over his face.

“What the hell? No! What’s wrong with you?!”

The barback looks absolutely scandalized at the accusation and Taehyung has to take a moment to remember just who exactly he’s talking to. He laughs and shakes his head before reaching down to clean out his well. Of course not, there’s no way Jungkook and Jimin slept together. Jungkook is too innocent for all of that and that means Jimin is still fair game.

  
  
  
  


The back office is actually two rooms adjacent to one another with two desks and two computers in each one. They’re both fairly large and they’re both the spot for any lingering employees to hang out after the end of shift meetings.

As Jimin approaches he hears laughter coming from the office room on the left only to find Jackson, Mark, Namjoon, Seokjin, Hoseok, and Yoongi messing around. Mark is sitting in Jackson’s lap while Seokjin and Hoseok seem to be having a dance off (which Hoseok is clearly winning) and Namjoon and Yoongi cheer their respective boyfriends on. Jimin almost feels like the odd man out and considers just waiting in his car for Jungkook to finish working, but then he and Mark make eye contact and the veteran waiter jumps off of Jackson’s lap and squeals out Jimin’s name.

“Jiminnie, how did it go with Jungkook?” His words are slurred and Jimin can tell that he’s still tipsy despite his efforts to chug a ton of water to sober up, if the copious amounts of water bottles that are littered around his and Jackson’s feet are anything to go by.

“We haven’t talked, yet, we’re going to after he’s finished here.” Jimin mumbles, keeping his eyes trained on the floor.

“What’s going on with Jungkook?” Yoongi asks and Jimin stares at Mark with wide eyes, silently pleading with the older man to keep his mouth shut.

Apparently he and Mark don’t have the same ability to communicate silently as he and Jungkook because the next moment Mark is smirking and turning to Yoongi with a look that says he’s going to spill all of Jimin’s secrets.

“Nothing!” Jimin squeaks out, using one arm to grab his friend and pull him close.

“Oh, doesn’t Jimin have a thing for Jungkookie? He thinks he’s hot!” Hoseok tells Yoongi with a wink. Namjoon and Yoongi share a look before both pairs of eyes turn to Jimin and he can feel the two of them picking him apart from head to toe.

“I don’t have a thing for him, I just said he’s cute. I told you that in confidence!” Jimin hisses and Hoseok laughs before clapping his hands at Yoongi.

“Let’s hook them up, babe!”

“My baby brother is not 'hooking up' with anyone, Jung Hoseok.” Yoongi huffs and Mark grins before opening his mouth to speak.

“Actually-”

“Actually, I- uh, I have a boyfriend, so-”

“You have a boyfriend?” Jungkook’s voice startles him and he turns around so fast he thinks he might fall over. The barback looks like he’s going to cry and Jimin feels his heart sink.

“No, you don’t. You told us last night that you don’t.” Hoseok pipes in before Jimin can deny it himself and all the new waiter can do is groan and bury his face in his hands.

“Okay, I just lied, I don’t know why, I panicked. I don’t have a boyfriend. I just freaked out because, _fuck,_ you guys are stressing me out!”

“Why did you say you have a boyfriend, then?” Jungkook frowns and Jimin wants the ground to swallow him whole.

“Because they were asking me about you and then Mark was about to tell them about last night!”

“What happened last night?” Namjoon asks.

“They fooled around, it’s not a big deal!” Mark says nonchalantly, causing both Jimin and Jungkook to gasp.

“You told him?!” Jungkook half-yells half-whines and Jimin nods weakly.

“I didn’t think he’d tell anyone.”

“Yeah, Mark is the worst about keeping secrets when he’s drunk. When he’s sober he won’t tell a soul, but...when he’s drunk it’s a different story.” Jackson informs the smaller man who looks like he’s on the brink of tears.

“Okay, enough!” Jungkook raises his voice, causing Jimin to jump in surprise. “Yes, we fooled around. No, it’s nobody’s business, but our own, so we’re going to all pretend like Mark didn’t just say that and none of you are going to repeat it to anyone else. Not to Taehyung, not to Jinyoung, not to your dogs, not to _anyone_. Cool? Cool. Now, Jimin and I are going to go have a talk and you guys are going to keep your mouths shut and act like you never heard anything, got it?”

With that Jungkook grabs Jimin by the hand and pulls him along as he storms out of the building. He’s not mad that Jimin told Mark about what happened, he’s just a little upset that the older man couldn’t wait around and talk to him about it first. Jungkook leads Jimin to his pickup truck, letting go of the waiter's hand only to open the passenger’s side door for him, before making his way around the truck and slipping into the driver’s side. When Jungkook turns the engine on, the two of them share a few moments of silence until Jimin speaks.

“Look, I’m sorry-”

“No. I’m sorry, I fucked up really bad yesterday and I shouldn’t have. I shouldn’t have kissed you without even asking first and then I just- I got really carried away and it was wrong of me to do that. I need to have better control of myself, I’m so stupid.” Jungkook rushes out, he reaches up to grip the steering wheel and squeezes it until his knuckles turn white. “I’m so fucking stupid and now I can tell that you’re mad at me and I wish I had never done anything because I do really like talking to you and you’re just so fucking...I don’t even know the right word to use, honestly, you’re beautiful, you’re gorgeous, and I just acted on impulse like some barbarian-”

“Jungkook, calm down! It’s not-” Jimin takes a deep breath. “It’s not like that, okay? I wanted it, too. If I didn’t I would have told you to stop.”

“No, I took advantage of you! You were high and I just thought we were having a really great conversation and I wanted to kiss you, but I know better than to do things like that.”

“We _were_ having a really great conversation.” Jimin smiles gently and reaches out to pry one of Jungkook’s hands off the wheel to lace their fingers together. He thinks holding Jungkook’s hand is nicer when he’s sober, but he keeps that thought to himself. “I wanted to apologize for last night, too, but not because it happened. I’m sorry that it happened so soon when we hardly know each other and I swear, I’m not like that. Other than you I’ve only ever done anything like that with one person, so last night was very out of character for me, but I don’t regret it or anything and I’m definitely not mad at you. I guess I was just really embarrassed by my own behavior. I thought you would think I was a slut and tell everyone about it.”

“No! It’s none of their business!” Jungkook huffs childishly, earning a laugh from Jimin. “I really am sorry and I don’t do stuff like that, either, I swear.”

“I know, I believe you. Mark told me about Kyungsoo. I think that’s what his name was.”

Jungkook frowns at that and lets out a sigh.

“What did Mark tell you?”

“Just that you lost your-” There’s an awkward pause before Jimin speaks again. “That you lost your virginity to him and that he had a boyfriend who threatened to come beat you up.”

“Please don’t think badly of me, okay?  I’m not a bad guy and I didn’t know that he and Jongin were still together. He swore to me up and down that they were broken up.”

“Hey, you don’t have to explain anything to me, I swear I’m not judging you. I don’t think you're a bad person, I promise.”

Jungkook sighs and leans in to rest his head on the steering wheel. He wants to explain everything to Jimin for some reason, even though he’s only known the boy for less than twenty-four hours.

“Actually, just so you know, Kyungsoo and I were dating. We didn’t tell anyone for a while because we wanted to keep it between us until we were ready. Then when we started having sex I was going to tell my brother that I was seeing someone, but all that stuff happened with Jongin and I couldn’t tell my brother or Namjoon about it because they’d hate Kyungsoo even more.”

“Why does it matter if they hate him or not?” Jimin frowns and Jungkook shrugs.

“He works here sometimes. He hasn’t showed up in a couple of months because of the whole issue with Jongin, but I know he makes good money here and I don’t want to ruin his chance of coming back and mess with his money.”

Jimin gives Jungkook’s hand a squeeze. He doesn’t understand why Jungkook would protect someone who lied to him like that, but it’s really not his place to say anything so he keeps his mouth shut.

“You’re a nice guy, Jungkook.”

“Thanks, I try.” The younger man lets out a bitter laugh before turning his head to meet Jimin’s eyes. “Can we start over?”

“Yeah! Of course we can!” Jimin beams at him and Jungkook relaxes into the seat.

But how do they take ten steps back when they’ve already taken such a large leap forward?

  
  
  
  
  


 

When Jungkook gets home he’s surprised to find that none of his roommates are hanging out in the living room. Usually everyone stays up for a while, but when he enters the front living room he’s met with nothing, but silence. He lets out a hum before making his way to the kitchen to grab a water bottle, but when he turns on his heel to head towards his room he comes face to face with his brother.

“Hyung! What the fuck?” The barback clutches his chest and takes a few deep breaths in and out. Sometimes his brother is too quiet for his own good.

“You and that new little waiter, huh?”

“Hyung, stop. We were high and-”

“Since when does being high make you do things like that?”

Jungkook groans as he tries to sidestep his brother to get away from the conversation, but Yoongi is faster than he is and grabs his arm.

“Yoon, seriously! I’m not a child!” Jungkook may be taller and more muscular than Yoongi, but his older brother is far more intimidating.

Jungkook looks into Yoongi’s eyes and he’s reminded of their childhood. Yoongi had always been the one to protect Jungkook at all costs. When Jungkook was getting bullied in high school, Yoongi followed the boys responsible for picking on his little brother and beat them until their faces bled. When their mother got so sick she couldn’t work and was unable afford to make rent or put food on the table, Yoongi took to selling drugs in order for them to survive. Jungkook has seen his brother put a bullet in another man’s head and he knows that he would do it again in a heartbeat, especially for him, that’s why the younger man is reluctant to share too much. Burdening Yoongi with his own selfish hurting is the last thing Jungkook wants to do.

“I just want to make sure you don’t make the mistake of trusting someone who doesn’t deserve it. We both know you’re too nice and way too forgiving.” Yoongi tells him. His voice is hard, but his eyes are soft and Jungkook knows that all his brother wants is to make sure he’s okay.

“I know, but it's fine. Jimin is a good kid. We barely know each other, but I want to get to know him even if it’s just as a friend.”

Jungkook likes Jimin, despite only having known him for a couple of days. Something about how easily their conversation flows makes Jungkook want to keep the smaller man in his life and he regrets acting without thinking the night before, but Jimin was forgiving and Jungkook is grateful for that.

Yoongi sighs and runs a hand through his hair.

“Something is going on with you lately.” The elder says softly as his body deflates, his demeanor changes and Jungkook can tell that his brother is just exhausted. Yoongi already has so much going on, Jungkook refuses to be one of the reasons Yoongi can't sleep at night.

Something _is_ going on with Jungkook, he’s scared and he’s stressed and he has no idea how to deal with the possible changes coming in his life, but he can’t tell Yoongi that. The manager is already so high-strung and overworked, Jungkook can’t expect to overload the other with his own problems. And he knows that this is Yoongi’s invitation to tell him about whatever it is that’s going on in Jungkook’s world, but the younger man just can’t. He doesn’t want to add onto his brother’s stress, so instead he shakes his head and smiles.

“Everything’s fine, don’t worry about me.”

Yoongi raises an eyebrow at him and waits a few more seconds before exhaling through his nose, an indication that he's unhappy with the answer he'd received.

“Okay, then. I’m going to bed.”

“Good night!”

Jungkook offers his best smile, but he knows that he really isn’t convincing anyone.

  
  
  
  
  


 

 

The next day Jungkook is up, surprisingly, before noon. When he checks his phone he has two text messages.

 **Kyungsoo** : Hey, I have some time tomorrow after my doctor’s appointment if you want to come over for a bit. Jongin has work so he won’t be around. Figured you might want to come by.

 

 **Jimin** : Hi! :) I just got out of class and I’m thinking about going for a hike! Wanna join?

 

Jungkook sighs before typing out a quick response to Kyungsoo. He has to work tonight, so he isn’t sure he’ll be up in the morning, but he would like to go and see the other, especially if Jongin won’t be there. He shakes his head to clear his thoughts, he doesn’t want to stress himself out so early, so he pushes Kyungsoo to the back of his mind before texting Jimin back.

 

 **Jeon Jungkook** : I love hiking! Where do you have in mind? I can be ready in ten minutes.

 **Jimin** : Okay! I’m pretty much ready, just gotta change into hiking shoes, but I just got to my place so that will only take a sec. Bukhansan is always a safe bet, dontcha think?

 **Jeon Jungkook** : Yep! Some of my favorite trails are there! Do you want me to meet you there? I can pick you up if you want to do that instead.

 **Jimin** : Either way is fine, my apartment is actually on the way from your house to the mountain.

 **Jeon Jungkook** : Okay, just send the address!

  


Almost an hour later Jungkook finds himself sitting on a rock with Jimin in one of his favorite hiking trails. He can’t say that he has any complaints because there hasn’t been one moment of awkward silence and their conversation is still so effortless that Jungkook thinks he wants to spend the rest of the day there with the other and skip going to work altogether. He wouldn't dream of actually skipping work, but he entertains the idea in his head for the thrill of it.

“I like talking to you.” Jungkook says as he takes two bottles of water out of his backpack. He offers one to Jimin and the other takes it with a smile.

“I like talking to you, too.” Jimin says softly. “Is it weird that I think I might have a crush on you even though we’ve known each other for three days?”

Jungkook laughs at that and shakes his head.

“Well, we did have a pretty eventful first meeting, so…”

“Oh my gosh, hush!” Jimin whines as he reaches out to shove the taller man playfully. “I’m so embarrassed by how I acted!”

“Don’t be, I was the one who initiated everything, you know? Besides, I liked it.”

“You did?”

“Well, yeah, duh.” Jungkook can feel his ears turning red as he looks down at his hands in his lap.

“Me, too. I really never do stuff like that. You’re the second person I’ve been with in that way.”

“Same here. It’s like you heard, I’ve only been with one person before.”

“Speaking of…” Jimin thinks this is the perfect time to ask. He’s almost afraid to bring Kyungsoo up in fear of ruining the moment, but he can’t shake his curiosity. “Do you still have feelings for Kyungsoo? You said you guys dated secretly, right?”

Jungkook’s smile falls and he leans back onto his arms. He chews on his lower lip as he tries to figure out what to say because while he’s hesitant to share this information with anyone else, he feels inexplicably at ease around Jimin. Something in him says that Jimin is someone he can trust.

“Alright, you have to promise me that you’re going to keep everything I tell you between us. That includes Kyungsoo and I dating, okay?” When Jimin nods Jungkook continues. “So...to answer your question: No. I don’t have feelings for him anymore, when I took a step back and removed myself from the situation, I realized that I can never be with someone like him. He lied to me, you know? At the same time, I understand why he lied and I’m not mad at him for it. Jongin is psycho and I think Kyungsoo liked the way I treated him because it was different than what he was used to. I mean, I’m sure if you ask around about them people at the club will tell you it’s not really a secret that Jongin beats the shit out of Soo. He always used to come to work with bruises on his arms and ribs and, sure, whenever dancers work the pole they get banged up and bruised, but not like _that_. So, one night after work Kyungsoo was crying on the phone with Jongin because the dude wouldn’t come and pick him up even though he took Kyungsoo’s car to do some drops-”

“Drops?”

“Drop offs. He’s a drug dealer, like most of the money he and Kyungsoo have comes from selling coke, not from his day job.” Jungkook says flatly and Jimin’s eyes go wide. “Yeah, so he left Soo at the club to go drop coke off to his buyers and wouldn’t go pick him up for whatever reason, so I offered him a ride home. From there on out we just kind of became friends and then from there it turned into more than that. So the first time Kyungsoo and I kissed was maybe eight or nine months ago and he told me he was going to leave Jongin. A week later he calls me and says he kicked Jongin out and now we can be together, but we have to keep it on the down-low for a while and I was okay with that because honestly I didn’t want anyone to know, yet, either. What Kyungsoo didn’t tell me was that even though he kicked Jongin out, they didn’t actually break up...they were just living apart from each other. Fast forward to about two months ago, Jongin finds my underwear at Kyungsoo’s apartment and flips the fuck out, that’s when he showed up at the club and threatened to beat me to death with a baseball bat.”

Jimin frowns as he takes in all of this information. It honestly sounds like a bad movie or a soap opera in his opinion, but looking at Jungkook he can see that the other is telling the truth.

“So...you don’t want to be with him?” The smaller man squeaks out and Jungkook laughs.

“Definitely not. I like my face.”

It is a nice face, Jimin thinks.

“Me, too.” He says softly earning a snort from Jungkook.

“But-”

“There’s always a but, isn’t there?” The pink haired man jokes, but he feels his insides crawling. He knew Jungkook was telling him the entire story for a reason, he just didn’t know what that reason was.

“Kyungsoo found out that he’s pregnant.” Jungkook says and it feels like the world has been lifted off of his shoulders. He hasn’t said it out loud and he hasn’t told a soul about it since he found out.

“Oh.”

“Yeah and he doesn’t know if it’s mine or Jongin’s. Jongin thinks it’s his because Soo is twelve weeks along and Jongin thinks that we’ve only had sex one time two months ago. I haven’t told my brother...or anyone else for that matter.”

“But you’re telling me?” Jimin squeaks when he feels Jungkook’s pinky hook with his.

“Well, I don’t know, this may sound really creepy, but you know after we hooked up…I think even if we’re not dating, we’re still not _just_ friends. Especially when you say you have a crush on me and I know I’m attracted to you, you know? I don’t know if I’m making sense, but I really want to kiss you again, but before I kiss you again I need to make sure that you want to kiss me, too. And before I can even think about asking you, I think it’s only fair for me to let you know these things...because we’re at a stage where if you don’t want to ever kiss me again or do anything like what we did two nights ago, then you can pull out now and it’s not like I tricked you into liking me when I may or may not have a kid on the way.”

Jimin hides a giggle behind his hand before scooting closer to Jungkook.

“You’re really weird.” He says softly, earning an embarrassed laugh in return. “But if you want to kiss me again, then you can. No funny business this time, though! We have to take things slow, okay? I don't want to completely rule out whatever it is that we can have, but...I don't exactly want to get married tomorrow, either.”

“We can take things as slow as you want. We just met, I get it. I promise no funny business, scout’s honor.” Jungkook holds up his right hand and Jimin rolls his eyes. “Okay, then I’m going to kiss you now.”

“Okay. Go for it.”

They stare at each other for a few moments before they both start laughing again and Jimin reaches out to slap Jungkook on the arm. The taller man makes no move to initiate anything, so Jimin decides to take matters into his own hands. 

 

And when their lips finally do meet after several attempts ruined by a smirk or a laugh, Jimin decides that kissing Jungkook is far better when he's sober. 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> still trying to get my writing mojo back  
> i feel like...in my head the story is a lot better than when I write it out. idk. fudge.
> 
> oh yeah and be my friend on tumblr:  
> [aquí](https://prettyyoongi-93.tumblr.com/)


	3. Strawberry Champagne On Ice

Sunday nights are usually pretty slow at the club, but Hansol begged Jimin to pick up his shift and to be honest it’s not like Jimin had anything better to do. So even if he doesn’t make a killing, he’s leaving with more money than he came in with and that’s reason enough to pick up a shift for him. There are only four other waiters on staff, so Jimin thinks that it’s going to be an easy night and the odds are in his favor. 

Currently there’s only about two tables in the club, so Jimin finds himself hanging out by the bar with Hoseok. 

“If I get any good tables, I’ll make sure to request you as my waiter.” Hoseok winks as he surveys the club. 

“Sweet. If I get a table that has money, I’ll tell them to get a dance from you.” His eyes land on Yoongi and Namjoon and he hums. “Hey, why don’t I ever see you and Yoongi interact at work?” 

“It’s better for us to avoid each other. For one thing, I don’t want to advertise that my boyfriend is a manager and for another, he doesn’t want it to seem like I’m getting special treatment. It works in both of our favors if we just stay away from each other.” 

“Ah, I see.” Jimin pauses for a moment before speaking again. “Does he hate me?” 

Hoseok snorts at the question and shakes his head.

“No, he may seem like a scary and angry old man, but he’s really nice. I think he was just caught off guard the other day when he heard about you and Jungkook. That’s his baby brother, you know? He’s pretty protective of Jungkook because they kind of only have each other.”

“What about their mom? They have the same mom, right? Different dads?” Jimin tries to remember what he’s heard about the two of them, but really he doesn’t know much except that they’re half brothers. 

“Their mom passed away, like, four years ago. She was fighting cancer for a really long time. Jungkook’s dad wasn’t really ever around and Yoongi’s dad only came back into the picture when their mom died. It’s a long and complicated story, but they had a rough time growing up.” Hoseok makes a face. “Even when Yoongi and I started dating we had a really difficult time because he doesn’t trust anyone and you can clearly see that he can be a little rough around the edges.”

“How long have you guys been together?” 

“Well, I started dancing here as soon as I turned eighteen and we started dating right after that, so...almost six years now. He was bartending at that time and doing some other stuff to make money. I was really into how hardworking he was...that and he was super hot. But, yeah, six years give or take.” 

Jimin’s jaw drops as Hoseok does the math in his head with a smile. He has so many questions, but doesn’t even know where to begin.

“Did you meet their mom?” He asks and Hoseok nods.

“Yeah, she was a really sweet lady. Very frail, but very loving, she tried her best to take care of the boys, but Yoongi really had to raise Jungkook because she was bedridden a lot of the time. You should ask Jungkook these questions, though, not me. I can’t tell you much about her or their situation growing up because it’s not really my place to say.”

Jimin’s heart aches at the thought and all he wants to do is leave and cuddle Jungkook for the rest of the night, but he knows that he can’t just up and leave so he tries not to think about it, instead he does a sweep of the club and perks up when he sees a man taking a seat at a table. He makes his way over to the patron and drops a napkin down in front of him before offering him his best smile.

“Hey! How’re you doing?” He asks and when the man smiles back up at him, he has to do a double take. Wow, Jimin thinks, this man is attractive. 

“Doing well, how about yourself?” He holds out a hand for Jimin to shake and the smaller man hesitantly takes it. 

“I’m doing great! My name is Jimin, I’ll be taking care of you tonight. Can I get you anything to drink?” 

“Pleasure to meet you, Jimin, I’m Youngbae. I’ll have a Macallan 18 on the rocks and if you’d like a drink, you’re more than welcome to join me.” The customer holds out his credit card for Jimin to take and when he does he has to force himself not to gasp. Jimin has never seen a black card in real life, let alone held one in his hand, and surprisingly heavy.  He keeps himself together, though, and makes his way back to his assigned bar. 

“Hey, can I get a Macallan 18 year-”

“We don’t carry any 18 year scotches at this bar, you’re going to have to go to VIP to get it.” Chanyeol, his bartender, says as he points towards the closed off section in the back. “Tell Yoongi or Namjoon that you have someone ordering Mac 18 and they’ll let you start the tab back there.” 

Jimin grimaces at that because the last thing he wants to do is go up to the other two men when he feels like they can’t stand him, but he takes a deep breath and takes hesitant steps towards the managers, who are still talking amongst themselves in the corner. When he explains the situation to them Yoongi nods and rests a hand on Jimin’s lower back as he leads him to the VIP bar. Jimin tries not to let it show on his face how uncomfortable he feels and simply follows the older man’s lead. Instead of Taehyung working at the VIP bar tonight, it’s a man Jimin doesn’t recognize and for once he wishes Taehyung could have been his bartender. (He’ll never say that out loud, though.) 

“Youngjae, I’m letting Jimin come back to your bar tonight, so he has permission to put in orders back here.” 

The bartender pouts at that, but nods motions for Jimin to place his order.

“Can I get a Macallan 18 on the rocks and something really weak for me? Like...something with barely any alcohol in it?” He asks hesitantly and the bartender rolls his eyes.

“You’re drinking?” Yoongi asks and Jimin nods.

“Yeah, I usually don’t drink and I want something weak because this guy is buying me a drink, but I don’t want to take something fake and get caught.” He recalls taking a fake shot two nights ago and the customer calling him out on it. He holds up the black card and widens his eyes. “He’s starting a tab with this. Have you ever seen one of these in real life? It’s so...solid.”

This time the bartender laughs before taking the card from Jimin and shaking his head. He places the two drinks on the bar and it’s not hard to guess that the pink one is Jimin’s.

“You’re cute.” He mumbles as he places the card in a small box next to the register. “Don’t forget the tab is at this bar, okay?” 

Jimin nods before taking the drinks back to the table. When he gets back the man perks up and pats the spot next to him. 

“What did you get for yourself?” He asks and Jimin smiles sheepishly.

“Something fruity? I don’t know. I just told the bartender to make me something.” 

They both laugh at that and clink their glasses together. Jimin takes his shot in one go, but Youngbae sips on his. 

“Do you have a favorite dancer here?” Youngbae asks after a few moments and Jimin nods enthusiastically. “Go get him.” 

And Jimin doesn’t have to be told twice before he’s on his feet and making his way back to the front bar where Hoseok is still hanging out by himself. When he brings the dancer back, he’s pleased to see Youngbae’s eyes light up in glee as Hoseok introduces himself as J-hope, clearly satisfied with Jimin’s pick. He lifts his glass and swirls it around before taking another sip of scotch and smirking.

“I have a proposition for the two of you.” He tells them, leaning in so that they can hear him. “I want to buy you both off of the floor for the rest of the night and I want to take you guys upstairs with me.” 

“Oh, we don’t-” Hoseok frowns and shakes his head. “We don’t do  _ extras, _ if you’re looking for someone who-”

“I don’t want any ‘extras’, I just want to get a booth upstairs and watch the two of you dance for each other. Nothing more, I promise.” 

Hoseok glances at Jimin and shrugs as if to say ‘if you’re down, I am, too’. 

“I don’t know if I’m even allowed to be bought off the floor.” Jimin says and Hoseok hums.

“Yeah, you’d have to talk to Yoongi about that.” 

“I’ll give the both of you 700,000 won each and I’ll tip the manager for you, as well.” 

Jimin’s jaw drops at that because there’s no way he would have made that much money just hanging out on the floor, even if he hustled hard. He could see that Hoseok was thinking the same thing, so he nods his head and stands.

“Okay, I’ll go get Yoongi.” 

“Before you go get him-” Youngbae starts. “Why don’t we get a bottle of champagne for upstairs?” 

“What kind of champagne do you want?” Hoseok asks, perking up at the idea. 

“Do you guys have Ace?” 

“That’s a 600,000 won bottle of champagne!” Jimin shrieks and Youngbae nods.

“Yeah, do you guys want it?” 

“I like champagne.” Hoseok says with a grin and Jimin looks back and forth between the two with his lower lip in between the two of them. He thinks it’s all a lot of money to be spent and he knows that the smart thing to do would be to take advantage of the offer, but he feels just a tiny bit guilty if Youngbae spends that much money on himself and Hoseok. 

As if he can read Jimin’s mind, Youngbae laughs loudly and reaches out to pinch Jimin’s cheek. 

“Don’t worry about the cost. I wouldn’t offer to buy it if it would hurt my wallet.” 

And that’s all the convincing he needs. 

Once the three of them are situated upstairs, Youngbae pours them all a glass of champagne each and sits back in the booth as Hoseok stands and sways his hips to the beat. 

“I’ve never had a lapdance before.” Jimin mumbles, hands at his side as he tries to mentally prepare for what’s to come. 

“Have you ever given one?” Hoseok asks, a mischievous smile playing on his lips, and Jimin shakes his head. “Well, I’m honored to be your first dance as well as your first recipient. I’ll go first if it makes you feel better.” 

Jimin nods eagerly and takes a swig of champagne. It tastes like rubber and to be honest he doesn’t understand why Youngbae paid so much for the bottle, but he forces himself to drink it in order to loosen up and avoid wasting the customer’s money. When the next song starts, Hoseok leans over him, arms on either side of Jimin’s head, and begins to move his hips in slow circles.He lets his head fall back as he dances on Jimin, slowly bringing his body down closer and closer until his ass rests on Jimin’s lap.  _ Gold jewelry shining so bright, strawberry champagne on ice. Lucky for you that’s what I like, that’s what I like. Lucky for you that’s what I like, that’s what I like. Sex by the fire all night, silk sheets and diamonds all white. Lucky for you that’s what I like, that’s what I like. Lucky for you that’s what I like, that’s what I like.  _ Hoseok sings along to the song as he dances, he turns so that his back is pressed to Jimin’s chest before grinding down into the younger man’s lap. He rests his hands on Jimin’s legs and leans forward to lift his bottom up in the air, shaking it for the other with a grin. He stands up again and twirls around, leaning forward so that his forehead rests against Jimin’s. It’s so intimate to Jimin and he feels his cheeks heating up as Hoseok dances slow and sensually. 

“You can touch me.” Hoseok says with a laugh, reaching down to take Jimin’s hands in his with a smile. 

Hoseok puts on a show, whether it’s for Jimin or Youngbae is unclear, but Jimin likes it. A lot. So when it’s his turn to dance for Hoseok a few songs later, he tries his best to put his inhibitions behind him. He feels a little better when Hoseok encourages him (“You’re gorgeous, just move to the beat and you’ll do fine and don’t do anything you’re not comfortable with! If anything is too much for you, let me know!”) so when the next song plays he tries his best not to worry about if he looks strange and instead focuses on letting his body feel the music. 

“Oh, wow.” Hoseok says and Youngbae makes a noise in the back of his throat. Hoseok doesn’t even wait to reach out and palm the two globes of flesh in front of him, squeezing Jimin’s ass as hard as he can because he’s wanted to do that since he met the boy. “Your body is amazing!” 

Jimin blushes at that and takes another swig of champagne. He doesn’t know how to take the compliment so instead of saying anything else, he continues to dance. 

After a few more songs, Jimin plops down into the booth between Hoseok and Youngbae. He doesn’t know how the entertainer manages to dance all night because he’s already tired and out of breath. 

“Usually when I get tired, I’ll just take a break and tell the customer that I need to cool down.” Hoseok tells him with a laugh and Jimin nods. He reaches for the bottle of champagne and pouts when he realizes that it’s empty. Youngbae senses the waiters distress and pats him on the knee.

“We can get another bottle of champagne if you want.” 

That’s all Jimin needs to hear before he’s jumping up and hurrying to find Yoongi. 

  
  
  
  
  


When the lights come on Youngbae hurries to pay his tab, he pays the dancer and the waiter a little more than what he’d originally promised and gives the both of them his phone number so that they can let him know when they’re working. 

“I think you made your first regular tonight.” Hoseok giggles into Jimin’s neck as the two of them get dressed in the locker room and Jimin nods happily. He’s drunk enough to where he can change in front of the other without feeling the need to hide and the thought worries him because if he’s that intoxicated he shouldn’t be driving. 

“Hey, you two, break it up. Jimin, do you have a ride home?” Yoongi appears by their side, seemingly out of nowhere, causing both men to jump in surprise.

“Baby!” Hoseok sings, stumbling forward until he’s in his boyfriend’s arms. The manager rolls his eyes, but Jimin doesn’t miss the fond look in his eyes as he wraps his arms around Hoseok’s waist. 

“Do you have a ride?” Yoongi repeats and Jimin shakes his head.

“I don’t have friends.” He says with a pout and Hoseok coos at him, reaching out to pinch his cheek, but failing due to the restriction from his boyfriend’s arms. 

“We’re your friends! You can come over and we can have a sleepover!” Hoseok smirks. “Jungkook will be there, too.” 

Jimin goes red in the face and whines, but the idea of hanging out with the younger man does sound appealing to him, not that he’d admit that right in front of his brother. 

“Okay, you guys, just wait in the office for me. Jimin, don’t forget that you get commission off of the bottles that you sell.”

“Keep it!” Jimin sings. “Youngbae took care of us and if you guys didn’t let me get bought off the floor then I wouldn’t have made that money, so...just keep my commission.” 

“That’s 120,000 won for the two bottles.” Yoongi says and Jimin nods. 

“Yeah, just keep it!” 

“We can’t keep your money, Jimin, that’s not-”

“I’m telling you to take it...or I’ll just give it to one of the other waiters.” The smaller man threatens and he sees the hint of a smile on Yoongi’s lips.

“Alright, then.” 

“Good!” 

  
  
  
  
  
  


When the three of them finally pile into Yoongi’s car, the eldest regrets offering to let Jimin stay the night because he and Hoseok get along a little too well. 

“How did you and Yoongi get together?” Jimin asks, resting his forehead against the window and closing his eyes. The glass is cool against his skin and Jimin loves it. 

“I told you!” Hoseok laughs, he’s a giggly drunk Jimin’s noticed. “We met here at the club. He was a bartender at the time.” 

“But how did you guys start dating? Yoongi seems so...mean.” 

“I’m right here, you know?” The manager laughs and Jimin leans forward so that his body is in between the passenger and driver’s seats. 

“Well now I know you’re nice, but I would have never thought that unless I talked to you today. How did Hoseok break you down?” The pink haired man slurs and Hoseok claps his hands.

“Oh, I love this story! When we first started hanging out Yoongi was into some no-good stuff. He was doing illegal things-”

“Babe.” Yoongi warns him and Hoseok rolls his eyes.

“So Yoongi used to sell drugs, mostly just coke and adderall-”

“Hoseok!” Yoongi interrupts him again, earning a pout from the other.

“What? It’s not a secret, I’m sure Jungkook is going to tell him one day. Anyway, I started working at the club and I had a crush on Yoongi, like, immediately after meeting him. He was just so cute and I thought it was funny how blunt he was towards everyone. Well, a week after me working at the club one of my roommates at the time said that he was getting coke dropped off for him and if Yoongi came before he was back from the ATM to just let him in...so then Yoongi came and I was like ‘Oh my gosh, you’re the hot bartender from the club’ and Yoongi was like ‘You’re a stripper!’ and from there we just started hanging out almost every day. Cute stuff.”

“That’s very...anticlimactic.” Jimin pouts and Hoseok shakes his head.

“Oh, no, there was a lot of drama in the beginning. We used to fight all the time because Yoongi didn’t trust me and thought I was a dirty stripper who sucked dick for money, but I would never. Like, ew no that’s  _ disgusting _ . Then we had all that drama with this kid named Ten- that’s not his real name, but I can’t pronounce his real name. I sent that fucker crying and packing, though, because Yoongi’s dick and his ass belong to me and I wasn’t about to let some pretty little boy with a nice face and an empty head come and try to mess that up!” 

“What happened with this Ten person?” Jimin asks and Hoseok howls.

“Oh, no. Please don’t.” Yoongi mumbles and Hoseok shakes his head.

“This fucking-” Hoseok makes sure to emphasize his words by clapping his hands. “This fucking bitch used to be Yoongi’s, like, I don’t even know- his favorite fuck?” 

“God damnit.” Yoongi grunts and Hoseok raises an eyebrow.

“Am I wrong?” He asks, earning a huff in response from his lover. “See, before me Yoongi didn’t do relationships, you know? Like, he’s never had a boyfriend. He fucked a bunch of boys and girls before, but Ten was his main one. You know what I’m talking about, the one he fucked the most out of everyone, and so when I came along I was not having that. Not one bit, okay? I told Yoongi that if he wanted to be with me he couldn’t be with anyone else. And that started a whole bunch of drama with Ten, but I wasn’t just going to give up the goods and be another booty call. Nope. Not me. Right, baby?”

“Right.” Yoongi rolls his eyes as they pull into the driveway. “But as much as I love taking strolls down memory lane, we need to get some water in you and get you to bed. You’re too drunk.”

“I’m not drunk!” Hoseok complains, but allows Yoongi to pull him out of the car. 

Jimin follows the couple inside, startled by the loud music coming from upstairs when he enters the house. He and Hoseok stand at the foot of the stairs as Yoongi goes to grab them both waters before he finds himself making his way to the second story. When they get to the top of the stairs, they see Jungkook and Taehyung laying on the floor in the center of the communal area, both staring at the ceiling and listening to music with too much bass in it. 

Yoongi rolls his eyes and turns on the light, causing both boys to sit up and whine.

“What the hell?” Taehyung asks and Yoongi rolls his eyes.

“We have a visitor. Jimin, I’m guessing you’ll sleep with Jungkook?” 

“Oh...well, if he doesn’t mind.” 

“Jiminnie!” Jungkook sings and immediately jumps to his feet. “You didn’t tell me you were coming over.” 

“He got too drunk at work, so he’s staying here. Where’s Yugyeom?” The eldest asks, glancing around for the third member of the terrible trio.

“At his boo’s place. Since when is he ever home?” Jungkook pouts and Hoseok snorts at that.

“Aww, did the three musketeers become two? You and Taehyung are a duo now, the third part of your trifecta is too cool to hang out with you guys now that he’s getting laid.” 

“Pretty much. You know, that’s so annoying because you never put a ho before your bros and that’s exactly what Yugyeom is doing.” Taehyung scrunches up his nose. He winks at Jimin and waves to the man, but the waiter is too busy focusing on trying to stand up straight to notice the obvious flirting. 

“Who’s Yugyeom?”

“Our roommate.” Jungkook says with a smile. Jimin sways back and forth in his spot and nods.

“Okay, that’s nice. I’m going to just go lay down.” Without even checking to see if he’s being followed, he makes his way to Jungkook’s room and falls face first into the bed. He lays there for a few moments, but it seems like an eternity, until Jungkook comes stumbling in with him and crawls into bed with him. They adjust themselves so that Jimin has his head on Jungkook’s chest and the younger man has his fingers running through Jimin’s hair. They stare up at the ceiling in silence until Jungkook speaks. 

“Whatcha thinking about?” Jungkook asks and Jimin smiles. 

“You.” The smaller man says simply and Jungkook laughs.

“Really? What about me?” 

“Hoseok told me your mom died.” Jimin mumbles, words falling out of his mouth in a drunken stupor before he can really think about what he’s saying. Jungkook tenses for a moment, but forces himself to relax. 

“She did.” He says softly and Jimin hums. 

“Hoseok said that Yoongi practically raised you.” 

“He did.” 

“How?” 

Jungkook laughs at that and shrugs with a shake of his head.

“Really, I don’t even know. He did what he had to do to take care of my mom and I...sometimes it wasn’t pretty, but we rarely starved.” 

“What about your dad?” Jimin asks, he knows that he’s being too invasive at the moment, but all of his sense of right and wrong is gone. He’s speaking without thought, something he rarely does, and tomorrow he might regret it, but right now all of the liquid courage in him is too much. 

“I, ugh, honestly I don’t know him very well. He left when I was young. Yoongi’s dad is kind of like a dad to me, but I’ve only known him for a few years. If anything, my brother was more of a father to me than anyone else.” Jungkook shifts a little, turning his head so that he can look down at Jimin. “I really am happy that Yoongi has Hoseok now. He deserves to be happy.” 

“I like Hoseok a lot…” Jimin smiles. “He told me that he made your brother give up his player ways.” 

Jungkook laughs hard at that one, clutching his stomach and squeezing his eyes shut as he nods. 

“Yeah...yeah, he did. I remember when he brought Hoseok home with him one day. I was fifteen at the time, I think, and I had seen the boys and girls that Yoongi would mess around with, and there were a couple that Yoongi favored so they would sometimes eat breakfast with us, but he never called them his boyfriend or anything...then one day he brought Hoseok home to meet us and it was just different from any time before. My mom really liked him a lot.” 

Jimin giggles behind his hand. 

“That’s cute. They’re a cute couple.”

“They weren’t always that way. They used to fight a lot and Yoongi used to make Hoseok cry, like, every day. Seok stuck around, though, and put up with Yoongi’s BS and now they’re happy and in love. It’s pretty cool.” 

“Do you think they’ll get married?” 

“Maybe one day.” Jungkook shrugs. “I don’t know...I hope so because I don’t think anyone else could really handle my brother. Yoongi’s had a crazy life and it shows.” 

“Was your life crazy?” Jimin plants a kiss on Jungkook’s shoulder and the younger man shakes his head.

“Nah. There were rough times, but everything was always easier for me thanks to my brother.”

Jimin falls asleep thinking he wants to get to know Yoongi better.

  
  
  
  
  
  
  


Jimin likes working on Wednesdays. He thinks it’s nice to come into work and get to see both Jungkook and Mark while earning the easiest money he’s ever made in his life. He’s made quite a few regulars in the club by now, he fits in well with the others even though he’s a little more straight edged than them, and he finds that he gets along well with the managers, even Yoongi and Namjoon. For once in a long time he’s actually okay with where he’s at, he’s happy with the way things are going, and it feels good. 

The club’s owner, Bang Sihyuk, comes in every once in awhile to see how the club is doing or to talk to Namjoon and Yoongi. He’s nice from what Jimin can tell; he’s really only said hello and goodbye to the man, but all in all the man seems to be pleasant. Currently he’s standing at the bar with a petite man who looks to be about Yoongi’s age. Every time Jimin goes to order a drink he takes a peek at the man talking with Sihyuk and he wonders if he’s possibly the man’s lover. It’s not entirely out of the realm of possibility, young people date up often and it’s really not Jimin’s place to judge so he tries to keep his staring to a minimum. It isn’t until Yoongi comes over and speaks to the two of them before walking towards the back with Sihyuk that Jimin’s gains interest again. It takes all of two minutes until Jungkook is standing in front of Sihyuk’s maybe-lover and the two of them are talking with one another. The maybe-lover laughs at something Jungkook says and nods before he turns and makes his way towards the back. 

Before Jimin knows it Jungkook is by his side, one arm draped over the smaller man’s shoulder as he leans onto the bar.

“Hey, can you put in an order of bacon wrapped shrimp and fried pickles for me before the kitchen closes? Extra ranch and a side of hot sauce for the pickles.” He looks down at Jimin and smiles. “Are you hungry? Do you want anything to eat?”

“I’m okay, I’ve been craving pancakes so I was thinking maybe after work we could go to that diner down the street, but if you’re going to eat now.”

“No! I’ll go with you!” Jungkook rushes out. “I love that place. I’m going to start breaking Tae’s bar down to the bare minimum so it takes less time to clean later. See you in an hour?” 

Jimin nods at that and smiles before waving Jungkook off. As much as the two of them were trying to be discreet about their budding relationship, it was hard to not want to kiss Jungkook in front of everyone or climb into his lap during shift meetings and Jimin thinks that most people in the club are onto them. Even Taehyung was starting to get the hint, which was a blessing because Jimin felt uncomfortable outright saying that he and Jungkook were a little more than friendly. He ignores the knowing look his bartender gives him and distracts himself with work.

 

It’s not quite the end of the night, but Jimin is tired. His last tab finally closed out after being drunk and obnoxious and all he wants to do is relax so he makes his way to the dressing room and plops down into the first chair he sees and rests his head on the counter only to lift his head when he hears a laugh from his right. 

“Rough night?” 

It’s maybe-lover from earlier. He’s sitting a few chairs down from Jimin with his legs pulled to his chest, he has two plates of food in front of him and Jimin barely notices that it’s bacon wrapped shrimp and fried pickles. 

“Yeah. Super rough.” He says as maybe-lover pops a fried pickle into his mouth.

“I do not miss working out on the floor.” The man slides one of the plates towards Jimin and smiles. “Want some? There’s no way I’ll be able to finish all of this. My eyes were bigger than my stomach.” 

Jimin shakes his head. 

“I’m okay, I’m going to eat after work. The kitchen here freaks me out.”

Maybe-lover laughs out loud at that and nods his head.

“You’re so right. I used to be the same way, but now I kinda have to just listen to my body and eat whenever it tells me to.” He looks like he’s about to say more, but then his phone goes off and he’s perking up at the sound. “Hey, baby...Yeah, Sihyuk and I talked already. He said he’s going to tell Yoongi to let me work the door...Uh-huh, I know, I’m really happy because I know most of the regulars here. Money shouldn’t be hard to make...Aw, do you miss us?” 

Jimin knows eavesdropping isn’t polite, but he can’t help it. He watches as maybe-lover rests a hand on his stomach and hums at whatever the person on the other line is saying. 

“I’ll be here, just call me when you’re pulling up. You know you’re not allowed inside after what happened...Okay, I love you. Bye.” The man hangs up the phone and places down on the counter, turning his head to meet Jimin’s eyes again. “Oh, wow. I’m sorry, I’m so rude I didn’t even introduce myself. I’m Kyungsoo.” 

Jimin chokes on his own spit as he stares straight into the eyes of Jungkook’s ex. 

Well, the happiness was nice while it lasted. 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> 1) I'm still trying to get back into writing, y'all. please bear with me if this story is super rough around the edges, i feel like the words aren't flowing the way i want them to.  
> 2) I'm so in love w yoonseok and their background story so i wanted to share some of it here. if y'all are interested in reading about it as a side chapter in here let me know. or if you don't want to read about it, let me know. or if you think i should make it separate, let me know. because i really like their backstory. a lot.  
> 3) I did the money in won instead of dollars, so roughly jimin and hoseok made like a little over 700 bucks each off of taeyang (i had to put him in here since jimin likes him lolol). he's gonna be a returning character. there's that.  
> 4) i just want to offer out a piece of information that i may or may not write in at osme point, but kyungsoo was a stripper, right? and he's one of sihyuk's favorites. like...around the club sihyuk has his favorite bartenders, dancers, door people, and waiters and soo is one of sihyuk's faves. that's why he gets to work the door even though yoongi and namjoon are still mad @ him for jongin coming to threaten jungkook.  
> 5) if y'all have tumblr you should be my friend and talk to me there because i love to talk about bts and fangirl and talk about ships and whatnot. [talk to me here!!!](https://prettyyoongi-93.tumblr.com/)


	4. Beautiful

Kyungsoo isn’t anything how Jimin imagined him to be.

Well, to be fair, Jimin doesn’t even know how he expected the other to look or act or sound, but this surely wasn’t it. Kyungsoo is just so _pretty_ with his pretty full lips and his prettily styled hair and his pretty round eyes. Jimin wonders briefly if Jungkook has a type. That type being petite, thick lips, and soft features, perhaps. He notices that Kyungsoo hunches over a little bit and subconsciously straightens up his own shoulders. Does the other fold into himself as a result of abuse or has he always been that way? Does Jimin slouch like that? He doesn’t have much time to dwell on it because Kyungsoo is speaking to him again, interrupting his thoughts and ultimately keeping him from comparing himself to the other too much.

“I’m sorry, what did you say?” Jimin asks and Kyungsoo makes a face. As if Jimin were inconveniencing him by asking him to repeat his words.

“I asked how long you’ve worked here.”

“Oh! Just a couple of weeks now. I’m Jimin.”

“Oh. That name sounds familiar...where have I heard it before?” Kyungsoo’s eyebrows knit together and he pokes out his lower lip in thought, trying to recall where he’d heard the name from. Pregnancy brain is very real and he can’t for the life of him recall why that name reminds him of something.

Jimin wonders if Jungkook has told Kyungsoo anything about him. He doesn’t know if he wishes he had or if he wishes he hadn’t.

The universe seems to want to answer Jimin’s question because moments later Jungkook runs in through the door of the dressing room, looking like he doesn’t have a care in the world.

“Minnie! The meeting is about to start, but everyone is looking for you.”

Was the club already closed? Had Jimin really missed lights on and clean up? He jumps to his feet.

“Shit, I didn’t realize it was so late.”

“Ah!” Kyungsoo snaps his fingers and points to Jimin. “That’s where I’ve heard the name before.”

Jimin breathes in, expecting the other man to jump up and strangle him in an instant.

“Uh-”

“AOA’s Jimin! That’s a girl’s name, no? How cute.” Kyungsoo claps his hands and then smiles at Jungkook. “Hey, Kookie, thanks for dinner!”

Jungkook glances back and forth between Jimin and Kyungsoo, frozen in his spot, because this is not how he’d expected the father of (possibly) his unborn child and his potential boyfriend to meet.

“No problem.” He says, rubbing the back of his neck. Jimin raises an eyebrow at him and Jungkook clears his throat. What’s the correct protocol in a situation like this? Does he introduce the two of them or pretend like he doesn’t know them? Is it too soon to introduce them? Have they already introduced themselves to each other? “Have you guys, uh, met?”

“Well, no shit we’ve met. I literally just said his name.” Kyungsoo deadpans and Jungkook nods awkwardly. Right. Of course.

“Okay, right. You’re right. Sorry.”

And Jimin doesn’t like the way that Jungkook flushes red. Doesn’t like the way that Kyungsoo so rudely addressed the younger man or how Jungkook didn’t even stick up for himself. It’s upsetting and it makes Jimin want to stomp over and shove Kyungsoo into a locker, but he refrains. He holds his tongue and clears his throat.

“So...I guess I’ll just get to the meeting now.” The waiter says as he stands up from his seat.

He doesn’t miss the look Jungkook throws him as he makes his way out of the dressing room.

It takes all of ten seconds for Kyungsoo to make a comment.

“He’s cute, isn’t he?” The older man asks and Jungkook nods as he rubs his arm nervously. “Is he the one?”

“How can you tell?”

“You’re having a mental breakdown right in front of me, you looked so scared when I said that he and I had already met, and he looked kind of pissed off when I thanked you for dinner. It was just a lucky guess.” Kyungsoo shrugs. “I like him, he seems really sweet.”

“Yeah, he is.” Jungkook beams and Kyungsoo grins back. He’d be lying if he said he wasn’t just a tiny bit disappointed that Jungkook wasn’t pining after him and he knows he’s being selfish in that sense. He wants to keep Jungkook and Jongin both all to himself, whether it’s for his own self-indulgence or for the sake of his baby he isn’t sure, but logically Kyungsoo knows better. He knows he can’t have his cake and eat it, too, so he sucks it up and stands on his tip-toes to pat Jungkook on the head. “I’m going to go outside and wait for Jongin, be good. I’ll call you when I can get a minute away from him.”

Jungkook gets a text a few minutes later from Jimin saying he’s too tired to go eat, after all.

  
  
  
  
  


Jimin finds himself at Mark and Jackson’s house the next morning, sitting at the edge of the bed as he watches the couple interact.

Jackson is laying down, but holding Aiden up in the air and making airplane noises as he rocks the toddler from side to side. Mark watches on with wide eyes and his lips turned up into a smirk, Jimin hears him mumble ‘if he throws up in your mouth, don’t say I didn’t warn you. I just fed him!’ and he doesn’t want to laugh, but he does when a bit of dribble drops down from the baby’s mouth and falls onto Jackson’s face. What’s more amusing is that Jackson doesn’t even flinch, doesn’t even make a move to wipe his face off or place Aiden down on the bed, instead he laughs and makes a joke about it raining inside their home. Eventually Mark rolls his eyes and pats his boyfriend on the stomach before taking the two year old from his arms.

“C’mon, let’s get you dressed little man.” He says enthusiastically. The oldest lifts Aiden in the air and leans in to sniff him. “Ooh, someone needs a diaper change, huh? Who’s a stinky little man? Is it you?”

Mark in parent mode is so different from what Jimin is used to seeing and he wonders what Jungkook will be like if and when his own child arrives. He glances at Jackson and he can see so clearly the love and adoration the other man has in his eyes as he watches his lover and son get ready for the day. Jimin almost feels like he’s intruding, but he can’t tear his eyes away from the little family.

Aiden is cute, there’s no doubt about it. Mark had shown him Jackson’s baby photos and the toddler looks exactly like the manager did when he was a baby. Mark seems to be happy about the fact as he constantly says how badly he wants Aiden to look like his father. Jimin wonders what Jungkook’s baby will look like. He wonders if the baby will be a boy or a girl and if he or she would look more like Kyungsoo or Jungkook. This leads him to wonder if he can look at the face of someone else’s child every day, or almost every day, and still treat that child fairly. And he knows that it’s all far-ahead thinking, but it’s not something he can just ignore or blow off. If Jungkook is the father of Kyungsoo’s baby then that means Jungkook will be partially responsible for another human life for the next eighteen years. If Jimin and Jungkook end up working out, then that means another human life in Jimin’s, as well. He wonders if he can handle that.

“What do you guys know about Kyungsoo?” He asks.

Mark looks over at him from the closet as he tries to figure out just what outfit to dress his son in for the day. He decides on a pair of bright yellow overalls and a white onsie underneath. Jimin watches as he dresses Aiden, slightly in awe of how effortless Mark makes it look to dress a kicking and whining baby.

“Well, he’s not exactly the most social person, so I don’t know much about him. Just that he’s dating Jongin, who’s a drug dealer, and that he slept with Jungkook.” The eldest says as he snaps Aiden’s overalls into place and then sets him down on Jackson’s stomach. “Why?”

“You know he’s going to be working at Cypher?” Jimin asks, laying sideways across the bed and resting his head on Jackson’s shins. It isn’t the most comfortable position, but he doesn’t really care. Mark grins and lays down next to him, placing his head on his boyfriend’s thighs and rolling his eyes when the man protests. _‘I’m not a piece of furniture you can all just rest on!’_ His words are ignored, though, and instead Mark settles into his spot.

“Well, yeah, I heard, but...it doesn’t really matter.”

“Yes it does! He and Jungkook-” He almost says too much, but luckily Mark interrupts him.

“He and Jungkook slept together? So what? It was one time. You shouldn’t worry about things like that because he’s got a boyfriend and Jungkook is into you. Look at Hoseok, he’s had to work with hundreds, I’m not exaggerating, of people that Yoongi slept with prior to dating him and he’s done fine...well, except for Ten, but that’s because he messed with Hoseok first. I’m pretty sure he would have left it alone if he wasn’t pushed. Anyway, if Hoseok can do it, then you can do it. It’s not like they were in a relationship, you know? They had sex _one_ time. It meant nothing to either of them, so we just gotta let it go.” Mark grins. “It could be worse. You know before Jackson and I started dating I was dating one of the bartenders, but then I broke up with him because I wasn’t really into him and a week later Jackson and I went on our first date...now that was awkward.”

“Hell yeah it was, that guy made my life hell when I was a barback.” Jackson butts in as he holds Aiden’s hands in the air and shakes his arms. “But look at this cutie pie, it’s worth it in the end since it led to the birth of the cutest baby in the world. Right, Aiden?”

The two year old giggles in response earning a smile from both Mark and Jimin.

“See? It could be worse. Just be glad it was a one night stand type of thing. Like I said, if they were dating then I would worry about it, but they weren’t...they just slept together once.”

 

If only the other man knew.

  
  
  
  
  


“Fucking finally, I was starting to think the kid killed you.” Jungkook whines when Yugyeom jumps into his bed and burrows himself under the covers.

“Oh, hush, you were the same way with he who shall not be named…you were never home and sprung as fuck.” Yugyeom laughs and Jungkook shoves him playfully.

“Shut up, you’re loud.”

Yugyeom is the only person Jungkook told about Kyungsoo, partially because he’s the only person Jungkook can trust to keep his mouth shut and partially because they used each other as alibis when they’d be gone for days on end, claiming that they’d been going camping or hanging out at friends’ houses. Jungkook wonders if he should tell Yugyeom about the baby, but he thinks that he doesn’t want to say anything to anyone just in case he isn’t the father. Telling Jimin felt good, though, and Jungkook can’t deny that he felt the weight of the world fall off of his shoulders when he’d let his secret go.

The older boy studies his friend’s face and for the first time in a long time Yugyeom seems genuinely happy. Yugyeom has been dating one of the dancers from the club, Kunpimook or _BamBam_ when he works, for almost a year now, but he’d been too afraid to tell his roommates for the simple fact that the dancer was close friends and roommates with Yoongi’s former lover, Ten. Yugyeom didn’t want to cause any fights in the house, so he kept his relationship from his roommates, other than Jungkook, but after he finally came out and told the others Jungkook swears his best friend walks with a lighter step. He wonders if he’ll feel the same relief if and when he tells everyone the truth about Kyungsoo.

“Wanna do something tonight? Just you, me, and Tae? We can go bowling and maybe go to that bar that TaeTae likes so much?” Yugyeom asks and Jungkook perks up.

“I’m down, dude, let’s do it.”

“Okay, cool, I’ll let Tae know. Get ready!”

Jungkook doesn’t have to be told twice. He misses spending time with his two best friends and he doesn’t know when an opportunity like this will present itself again, so he makes the most of it and rushes to get ready. It’s right when he’s pulling a beanie down over his head that his phone goes off.

 

 **Jimin** : Hey!! My professor just posted our grades and I got an A on my stats test!!! Let’s celebrate!!! You, me, and a bottle of wine? :)

  


Jungkook pouts at the text because he really does want to see Jimin and he’s almost positive the other was upset with him the night before, but he hasn’t hung out with Taehyung and Yugyeom in so long, he can’t ditch them now.

 

 **Jeon Jungkook** : Can we take a raincheck? My roommate’s home for the first time in three hundred years and we’re kind of doing a boys thing tonight, just me, Tae, and Yugyeom. I’m sorry, babe. ):

 

Jimin doesn’t reply for another ten minutes and it makes Jungkook’s stomach do somersaults, he really doesn’t want to upset the other again.

 

 **Jimin** : Oh! Okay, that’s totally cool! I remember Taehyung saying something about him always being with his boyfriend, right? Next time!! :)

  


Jungkook lets out a sigh of relief and pockets his phone. He’ll make it up to Jimin soon, but tonight it’s all about him and his two best friends.

  
  
  


Jimin can’t deny that he’s just _slightly_ disappointed. He wants to see Jungkook and hang out with him, maybe even make out a little bit if he’s being honest, but now he’s stuck at home watching reruns of boys over flowers and shaking his head at himself for being so obsessed with the show back when it first came out. He reaches for his remote and decides to just study for the rest of the night when his phone goes off.

  


**Youngbae** : Hey, gorgeous! You working tonight?

 **Park Jimin** : No, not tonight! ): I think Hoseok is, though! Mark should be, too.

 **Youngbae** : Aw, but it’s no fun if you’re not there. Wanna meet me at the club for some drinks? I’d love to watch Hoseok dance for you again. ;)

 

Jimin thinks for a moment before shrugging to himself and glancing at his closet. Going out beats staying at home and if Jungkook can go out and have fun, then so can he. Besides, he likes Youngbae a lot and the older man has never made him feel uncomfortable so he types out a quick text before hopping out of bed and changing into a pair of black skinny jeans and a white button up.

 

 **Park Jimin** : I can be there in twenty minutes.

  
  


When Jimin arrives at the club the first thing he notices is that Kyungsoo is training behind the door with Kihyun, one of the head door boys. He offers them both a smile and leans up against the counter.

“Hey, has Youngbae come in?” He asks and Kihyun shakes his head. Youngbae has become quite popular in the club as he’s come in a few times to see Jimin since the first night they met and spent more money in one night than most people do in the year.

“No, why? Is he coming in?” Kihyun asks and straightens up.

Jimin pouts at that and nods.

“Yeah, I’m supposed to meet him here.”

“You’re meeting customers out?” Kyungsoo asks and even if he doesn’t mean for it to sound judgemental, it does.

“Yeah...he’s a friend and I like hanging out with him.” Jimin shrugs and tries not to let the fact that _Kyungsoo_ is judging him get under his skin. “I mean...it’s not like I’m out cheating on my boyfriend or anything.”

Jimin doesn’t know why he says it and the moment it leaves his lips he feels regret. Usually he would never say anything like that. Usually he’d keep his mouth shut and kill others with kindness. Passive aggressive comments aren’t his thing and he makes a mental note to apologize to Kyungsoo later when they’re alone. One look at the older man’s face and Jimin knows that he made the wrong choice with those words. Before he can try to rectify the situation, the front door swings open and Youngbae walks in with a grin.

“Jimin!”

“Hey!” Jimin greets the older man with a hug and points to Kihyun’s tip jar. “Tip them and then we can go in and find Mark.”

“You want Mark to wait on us?” Youngbae asks as he drops a wad of bills in the tip jar and Jimin simply nods, taking Youngbae’s hand in his and leading him into the club. “Okay, I’ll grab us a table and you grab your friend.”

Jimin makes his way through the club, searching for the waiter and pouting when he comes up short. He makes his way back to the dressing room and claps his hands when he finds Mark staring down at his phone with furrowed eyebrows.

“Hey! Youngbae and I want you as our waiter!” He sings and Mark jumps at that.

“Holy shit, you scared me.” Mark laughs, but it sounds more forced than genuine.

“What’s wrong?” Jimin immediately senses something is off with his friend and his face falls into a frown.

“Nothing, nothing. It’s stupid.” The elder shakes his head and rubs his eyes before standing up straight. “Youngbae is here?”

“Yeah! And we want you to be our waiter. I bet you anything I could get him to buy you off the floor. All we do is go upstairs and dance for each other while he watches. It’s super chill.” Jimin grins and Mark shakes his head as he wraps his arms around his stomach.

“I can’t do that, I’ll wait on you guys, though.”

“Oh my God, don’t even do that. I already know what you’re thinking.” Jimin pulls Mark’s arms away from himself. “I told you when we first met I couldn’t even tell you had a kid until you told me.”

His friend rolls his eyes at that and makes a face.

“Shut up, I have a huge scar across my stomach and it’s really gross looking.”

“He’ll give you so much money, though.” Jimin whines. “I don’t want him to give it to anyone else, but you and Hoseok.”

“Well, he can give me his money if I’m his waiter.” Mark says with a sigh. “I really don’t even want to work.”

“Why not? Are you fighting with Jackson again?” When the elder doesn’t answer Jimin lets out a huff. “What are you fighting about now? Don’t let him ruin your mood! Want a shot? We can take a shot with Youngbae! Whatever you want. Do you want tequila? Do you want vodka? You want one of those fancy shots that cost more than our rent? You name it and I’ll make him get it for us!”

This earns a laugh from the other and Jimin smiles at his small victory.

“Who are you? A few weeks in the strip club and you’re a whole new person, Park Jimin, you’ve already turned into a hustler.” The elder jokes. “I don’t want an expensive shot...just a shot of tequila will be good.”

Jimin nods at that and grabs Mark’s hand.

“Come on! Let’s go!”

  
  
  
  
  


Jungkook is sitting at the bar with Yugyeom, watching Taehyung grind with a random girl on the empty dance floor of their go-to dive bar. It’s entertaining and Jungkook could sit and watch his friend make a fool of himself all day if given the chance. He and Yugyeom are in a heated conversation about who’s better, Chris Brown or Justin Beiber, when Jungkook’s cell phone goes off.

 

 **Kyungsoo** : Your boyfriend is here with a customer…and he is wasted.

 **Kyungsoo** : Also, I’ve changed my mind. I don’t like him.

 **Jeon Jungkook** : Is it Youngbae? That guy basically pays Jimin’s rent nowadays.

 **Jeon Jungkook** : Why don’t you like him anymore?

 **Kyungsoo** : He just made a really rude comment that rubbed me the wrong way. I mean...I figured you told him about us, like, I could tell by the way he acted when you came to the dressing room the other day, but he basically said “at least I’m not a cheater” when I asked him why he was with a customer.

 **Kyungsoo** : I wasn’t even trying to be rude? I was just curious…

 **Jeon Jungkook** : Oh. Wow. I kind of can’t believe that he would say something like that. Are you sure he was being serious?

 **Kyungsoo** : Yeah. I’m sure. And now he’s super drunk here at the club...him, Mark, and Hoseok are fucked up. :|

 **Jeon Jungkook** : Where’s my brother??

 **Kyungsoo** : Idk I’m stuck at the front.

  


Jungkook isn’t a jealous person, he understands that Jimin and Youngbae’s relationship is one of business and he will never stand in the way of Jimin making money. That doesn’t mean, however, that he doesn’t worry because Jimin _cannot_ hold his alcohol, despite how much he thinks he can. Jungkook glances at his phone and chews on his lower lip in thought. They’re only about ten minutes away from the club and he’s sure Taehyung wouldn’t mind stopping by the club if he suggests it. He glances over at Yugyeom and catches him smiling down at his phone like an idiot.

“Let’s go to the club!” He suggests, earning a confused look from Yugyeom.

“I’m down!” Taehyung practically screams, pushing the girl away from him so that he can grab his beer and chug the rest of it down. With Taehyung and Jungkook both wanting to go, Yugyeom gives in and nods.

  


When they arrive at the club the first thing Taehyung does is order them three shots of whiskey and as much as Jungkook wants to stick around and drink, his eyes are scanning the area for any sign of Jimin. It doesn’t take long for him to find the smaller man, who seems to be helping Youngbae sign his credit card receipt. He can see Jimin shake his head and grab the pen from Youngbae before, Jungkook assumes, writing in a tip for Mark and signing the receipt for the customer. He watches with a raised eyebrow as Jimin wraps his arms around Youngbae’s shoulders and sways with him back and forth before the older man is reluctantly pulling away and leaving Jimin behind with Mark. Jungkook takes this as is his cue to move in and before he knows it he’s following Jimin and Mark back to the dressing room.

“Jackson is going to kill me for being so drunk.” Mark giggles into his arms, he’s leaning against his locker with his sweatpants hanging off of one leg in a half-hearted attempt to pull them on. Jimin simply snorts from his spot on the floor at that and claps his hands.

“Screw him!” Jimin screeches and Mark nods at that.

“Yeah, fuck him.”

They share a laugh and Jungkook doesn’t know if he should take a photo of how messy the two of them look or if he should try and help them get themselves together. He decides that as much as he likes blackmail material, he does want to make sure that Jimin is okay. Since the elder has started working with them, Jungkook has noticed a change in Jimin and he doesn't want to say out loud just how much that worries him. He decides that instead of saying something and upsetting the other, he just wants to help him as much as he can. 

“Hey, drunk-asses. What are you two doing?” He asks as he bends down to help Jimin stand up. The off-the-clock waiter whines as he lets himself be manhandled and thrown over Jungkook’s shoulder.

“I must be really fucked up if I’m dreaming Jungkook is here.” Jimin whines to himself and Mark lets out a snort.

“He is here.”

“Is he? Is this real?” Jimin simply slaps Jungkook on the butt to make sure. “Jungkookie, I thought you were with your roommate!”

Jungkook places the older man down and smiles softly, shrugging a shoulder as he tries to figure out exactly what to say.

“I was...but then I heard you were getting a little wild in here and I may have been a little worried...so I brought the boys here.”

“Getting wild? Me?” Jimin giggles as he sways side to side. “No, not me...where did Hoseok go?”

“He got in trouble with Yoongi, remember?”

Jungkook’s ears twitch at this.

“What happened with my brother and Hoseok?”

“Lover’s quarrel…Hoseok was drunk and started arguing with Yoongi so he got sent home. Yoongi had to force him into an uber.”

“How did you get so drunk?”

It’s a stupid question, Jungkook and Jimin both know how it happened.

“Well, Jungkook, you see...there’s this magical thing called alcohol and if you drink it-” Jimin laughs at his own joke before he can even finish, but then he tilts his head. “Who told you to come here?”

“Nobody told me to come here, I just heard you were drunk and-”

“Yeah, okay, but who told you I was drunk?” Jimin looks to Mark, who shakes his head, then back to Jungkook.

“Kyungsoo may have texted me-”

“Why?”

“What do you mean?”

“Why is that any of his business?”

“Jimin-”

“No, tell me. _Why is that any of his business?_ Why is he talking to you about me and more importantly why are you here when you told me that you were going to spend the night hanging out with your roommates? It was a ‘boys’ night’ for you guys before, but then Kyungsoo texts you to let you know that I’m out instead of crying in my bedroom over you and now all of the sudden you have time for me?”

“No, that’s not how it is. I was just worried about you. I don’t want you to get hurt.”

“Well look at me!” Jimin takes a step back and does a spin. “Do I look hurt to you? No, I don’t. I look damn good, though.”

Jungkook stifles a laugh and reaches out to pull Jimin back to him. He has his arms around the smaller man’s waist and his lips to the other’s temple in no time.

“You do look good.”

“Fuck off, Jeon, I’m not falling for this.” Jimin whines, despite the fact that his arms find their way around Jungkook’s neck.

Jungkook grins and plants a kiss to Jimin’s cheek.

“Is this our first fight?” He asks with a smirk and Jimin rolls his eyes, all resolve he’d had to argue with the other leaving his body with every passing moment.

“Shut up, I’m mad at you.”

“But you look damn good, though.” The barback whines playfully, earning a smack on the shoulder.

“Fuck off, if you weren’t so hot I’d kick you in the shin.”

Jimin thinks he might kiss Jungkook, he pulls back with a sly grin, but when he stands on his tiptoes the room starts spinning and he has to take a step back.

The last thing he remembers before blacking out is throwing up on Jungkook’s shoes.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I'm not the happiest with this chapter, but I also didn't know how else I wanted to end it. ;~;


	5. I Feel It Coming

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Warnings for mentions of drug use, overdose, and violence.

When Jimin wakes up the next morning his head feels like it’s crushing in on itself and the second he opens his eyes he has to squeeze them back shut. He groans and asks himself why he does this. What pleasure is worth this much pain? 

“Morning, Sunshine.” Jungkook mumbles from his left and JImin can feel his face turning red. 

Fuck. He totally forgot about arguing with Jungkook in the dressing room at the club. The last thing he remembers is throwing up and being carried to the toilet by the younger man. He really needs to get his life together.

“How bad was I? On a scale of one to ten?” Jimin asks hesitantly and Jungkook hums as he holds a hand to his chin in mock thought.

“I’d say a solid eight point seven. Not quite a nine, but almost.” The other man grins as he reaches out to pull Jimin to his chest. “You cussed Taehyung out so you might want to apologize for that...or not, it was pretty funny.” 

_ “No.  _ I didn’t.” Jimin whines in disbelief and buries his face into Jungkook’s neck.

_ “Yes. _ You did.”

_ “Why?” _

“Well, he was trying to help me carry you to the car, but you thought he was trying to cop a feel. In all  honestly he might have been, so you told him to keep his filthy fucking hands off of your ass because you aren’t some dumb whore he can bang and that if he ever tried to fucking touch you again you’re going to cut each of his fingers off and dump them in Yoongi’s fish tank.” 

Jimin lets out a whimper and shakes his head. He really needs to quit drinking because every time he gets drunk, he says or does something that stays in his head and embarrasses him for days after it’s happened. He glances up at Jungkook, who despite everything still looks at him with the goofiest grin Jimin has ever seen. Without giving it too much thought, he leans in and presses a soft kiss to the corner of the younger man’s mouth before burying his face back into the crook of Jungkook’s neck.There are a few moments of comfortable silence before the barback speaks again.

“Are you hungry? Seokjin and Namjoon are downstairs. Jin made breakfast.” 

“Does he just come over here to cook for you guys all the time? Like a personal chef or something?” Jimin laughs as he sits up slowly. If he just moves bit by bit at a snail’s pace, he thinks he can make it downstairs without throwing up. 

“Kind of, him and Joon usually come over every morning so we can all eat breakfast together. It’s been like that since we were really young. Namjoon, Yoongi, and I always have breakfast together.” 

“Is there a reason behind that?” Jimin asks. He finds it endearing that the three of them continue their tradition and he wonders what it’s like to have friends as close as that. 

“No, not really.” Jungkook laughs as he shakes his head with a shrug. “It’s just habit, I guess. I told you before that Yoongi worked really hard to make sure my mom and I ate and had enough money to survive. Namjoon always worked with him, no matter what it was, and so every morning we would all eat together to just spend at least a little bit of time together and catch up with each other. We just kept doing it even after we grew up and we do it almost every morning. Sometimes we can’t, but we try to.” 

“That’s really sweet.” He mumbles as he steadily follows the younger man out of the bedroom. He knows it’s silly to be jealous, but he wishes he’d had a family or friends that he could be that close to. He wants what Jungkook has with his brother and small group of friends. The more he gets to know them, the more he aches to be a part of their world. 

The kitchen, when they arrive, is a mess. There’s pancake batter everywhere and Namjoon stands with his hands in the air and a look of fear in his eyes as Seokjin scolds him. Taehyung simply sits on the counter and laughs at the couple, dressed in nothing nothing, but his boxers and occasionally sticking his foot out to nudge Namjoon with his toe. Jimin notices Yoongi leaning against the counter quietly with a small smile tugging at his lips. 

“Namjoon, I told you a million times to stop touching things when I’m cooking!” 

“I’m sorry I was just trying to help you!” The manager whimpers as he shrinks back into himself. Seokjin waves an arm around the kitchen.

“You burn microwavable oatmeal, Joon. You literally only have to add milk and put it in the microwave for the time set on the package, but you still burn it! How on Earth do you think you would be of assistance when it comes to real cooking? And look at this mess! I have to clean it all up when everyone's done eating!” 

“You don’t have to clean it, we can do it.” Taehyung snorts, earning an eyeroll from Seokjin. 

“You’ll leave the dishes here for weeks if I don’t clean it up, you little brat.” 

“I’ll clean up.” Jimin says softly, momentarily pausing the chaos. 

“Ugh, you’re such an angel, Jimin. You can stay, I like you.” Seokjin pats the shorter man on the head before returning to cooking and ending the argument that was brewing between himself and his lover. 

Jimin smiles nervously at Taehyung who waves at him with a bright smile, seemingly unbothered about the night before.

“I’m sorry if I was rude to you last night. I don’t remember cursing at you.” 

“It’s fine! We all say and do stupid shit when we’re drunk. It was actually really funny.” The bartender tells him with a boxy smile.

“So you’re not mad at me?” 

“No, kid, you’re fine.” Taehyung reaches out to ruffle Jimin’s hair, despite the smaller man’s protests, before glancing around the kitchen. “Speaking of people who were too drunk to function last night...where is Hoseok?” 

As if on cue the dancer shuffles into the kitchen past everyone and heads straight to the fridge. He simply grabs a bottle of water before turning on his heel and making his way back to the stairs.

“Hoseok-” Yoongi starts, but the younger man ignores him as he stomps up to his and Yoongi’s room. 

“What’s going on there?” Namjoon asks, having given up on helping Seokjin cook. Yoongi rolls his eyes and shakes his head.

“We’re fighting.” 

“Didn’t you send him home last night?” Seokjin pipes in as he mixes a new batch of pancake batter and Yoongi nods.

“Yeah, he was acting stupid at the club, but that’s not why we’re fighting. When I got home we both said and did some things that I’m not proud of, so I’m sure he’s still upset with me.” 

Jungkook frowns at that and Jimin thinks that if he weren’t there maybe Yoongi would go into more detail. He wants to know, though, why the couple is arguing. He wants to be in on the conversation because he wants to be as close to the others as they are to each other. 

“You threw out low blows, didn’t you?” Jungkook asks, disregarding the fact that Jimin is technically an outsider in their small circle of friends, and when a look of guilt flashes across Yoongi’s face he huffs. 

“Did you bring up Hyorin?” Namjoon asks and Yoongi gets up from his spot at the counter. 

“I’m hungry, I’ll wait in the living room until breakfast is ready.” He croaks out, blatantly ignoring his best friend’s question. 

“Stop being such an ass just because you get mad at him for drinking. He got drunk, so what? I’ve seen you take four lines and then chug down half a bottle of Jack. Don’t act like you’ve never had fun.” Namjoon says with a scowl.

“I don’t care if he drinks or gets drunk, but he’s been doing it way too often. And we all know that his inability to control himself is what fucked everything up in the first place, so sue me if you think I’m overreacting.” Yoongi growls back, Jimin can see the vein in his neck popping and he feels like he shouldn’t be there. He feels like he’s just walked into a very private conversation and the light-hearted mood from earlier is completely gone. 

“Maybe we shouldn’t discuss these things over breakfast.” Seokjin says sharply. He throws an apologetic look to Jimin before resting his hands on the counter. “Yoongi don’t be a dick. Go apologize to Hoseok. Jungkook set the table. Taehyung, help me finish this last batch. Namjoon...just stand there and look pretty for me.” 

The eldest winks at Jimin and motions for him to take a seat at the counter before he continues with what he’s doing and just like that everything almost seems to return back to normal. The powers of the mother-figure, Jimin thinks, they should never go underestimated.

“This is pretty regular, Jimin.” Seokjin says softly. “They have a big fight once every few months and we were just about due for one, so don’t worry. Everything will be fine by tomorrow.” 

 

Jimin notices that for the rest of the morning Jungkook stays silent.

 

 

 

 

 

 

When Jimin leaves later in the afternoon the first thing Jungkook does is make his way upstairs to his brother and Hoseok’s bedroom. The two haven’t stepped out since Yoongi left breakfast and while the second-youngest member of the household would usually wait until the two of them are ready to talk, he doesn’t think he can sit back silently anymore. He knocks hesitantly on the door before reaching for the doorknob, turning it slightly to test if it’s locked, pushing it open, and stepping inside the dimly lit bedroom. He makes his way to the bed and sits at the foot of it as he eyes the couple. Yoongi is sitting up and resting against the headboard with Hoseok leaning into his side, eyes closed and breathing steady. Yoongi raises an eyebrow at his brother and nods in his direction, a silent cue to speak. 

“Are you guys okay?” Jungkook whispers, earning only another nod in response. He worries about his brother and Hoseok more than he’d ever admit, even though he’s younger than them he still feels a sense of duty in making sure that the two of them are okay. “How is Hoseok feeling?” 

“He’s upset...and he has every right to be.” Yoongi says softly, running his hand up and down his boyfriend’s arm. “I’m a bastard.” 

“Yeah, you are.” Jungkook grins only to receive a soft kick from his brother. He pauses for a moment before speaking again, making sure to choose his words carefully. “Have you guys thought of going to visit her?”

Yoongi tenses at that and Jungkook can see that he’s struck a nerve. He almost backtracks, an apology set on the tip of his tongue, when his brother lets out a heavy sigh.

“I don’t think we’d be able to handle it. If he sees her, he’s going to want her back and that’s just not possible. We can’t take care of her with the way she is, hell even if she were... _ normal _ -” The words taste bitter on Yoongi’s tongue and Jungkook flinches, he can see it in his brother’s face just how much he hates every syllable he utters. “Even if she were a normal kid, we couldn’t take care of her and he and I both know that. We can’t afford a fucking kid and we don’t live the kind of life that’s fit for one either. What kid wants to be the daughter of a stripper and an ex-drug dealer turned strip club manager? And it’s not fair to her, either. We gave her up, she isn’t ours anymore. Who are we to come in and ask her parents to let us see her? How would we even explain to a four year old that ‘Hi, we’re your real parents, but we didn’t want you back then. Oh, but now we want to be in your life!’? It will break all of our hearts and it’s already hard enough on us as it is.” 

Jungkook watches as Yoongi’s chest rises and falls, he can see that the other man is trying hard to control his emotions and he wonders if this is the life he’s going to live: full of regret over giving up his own child because he thought it would make things easier. He thinks about Kyungsoo, about how no one else knows that the life inside of the older man could very much belong to Jungkook. What is he going to do if the baby really is his? Sure, they’ve talked about it and Jungkook gives Kyungsoo money when he can, but what is he supposed to do if and when they tell Jongin? Jungkook doesn’t have enough money to support himself  _ and  _ Kyungsoo  _ and  _ a baby. If Yoongi can’t afford to take care of a child, then Jungkook knows that he surely can’t. He glances down at his hands and thinks through his words for a moment before letting out a sigh.

“Hyung, I have to tell you something.” 

“Yeah? What is it?” 

“You’re going to be so mad at me.” Jungkook tells the other with a quiet groan. He can already feel Yoongi’s eyes burning a hole into his head, but he doesn’t look up. He’ll lose any and all resolve he has to come clean to his brother if he does. 

“What? Tell me.” 

“You remember when Kyungsoo’s boyfriend came and threatened to kill me?” 

Yoongi lets out a huff.

“Yes, Jungkook, I remember that very clearly.” He growls. “Is he messing with you? You know I won’t let anything happen to you. I can take care of him, you know that.” 

Jungkook flinches at the other’s words.  _ Take care of him.  _ Truthfully, Jungkook had entertained the idea of asking his brother to put an end to Jongin in the past, but he couldn’t stomach the thought for more than a few minutes at a time. Sure Jungkook knows that Yoongi is more than capable, he’s seen it with his own eyes before, but he also knows that he would never ask his brother to do such a thing for him. When Jungkook sees just how much love is in his brother’s eyes every time he looks at Hoseok, he doesn’t think he could ever ask Yoongi to turn back to his old ways and compromise what he has. 

“No, no. It’s just...remember how I said that Kyungsoo and I only had sex once and that it was a drunken mistake?”

“Yes. What’s the point?”

“I lied.” 

“You lied?” Yoongi asks, confused. It’s not like Jungkook to lie. It’s not like  _ any of them _ to lie, especially to one another. Their entire circle of friends have always boasted honesty and rarely ever kept anything from each other. “I don’t understand why you would lie about that, but okay. Are you feeling guilty for keeping that a secret? Because it’s not that big of a deal, I don’t need to know every detail of your sex life. You are my baby brother, after all.” 

And Jungkook knows Yoongi is trying to lighten the mood to make him feel less guilty, but he also knows that the words that will follow are going to make his brother angry so he braces himself. 

“Kyungsoo and I were seeing each other...for a while.”

“How long is a while?” 

“Seven months, just about.” 

“You were seeing someone for  _ seven months _ and didn’t say anything to us?” Yoongi asks, Jungkook can hear the hurt in his brother’s voice, it’s barely there, but he can still hear it. The guilt eats away at Jungkook’s insides because he doesn’t like knowing that he kept such a big thing from his family.

“That’s not all…”

“Okay, then, what else is there? Just tell me.” Yoongi is starting to get impatient, Jungkook can see it in the way his mouth turns downwards and his jaw tenses. 

“You know that Kyungsoo is pregnant, right?” Jungkook squeaks out, he knows that Sihyuk had to have told at least Namjoon and Yoongi the reason why Kyungsoo is behind the door instead of dancing now.

“Jeon Jungkook.” The elder mutters darkly as the cogs in his head turn. “What are you trying to tell me?” 

“I’m sorry, hyung.” Jungkook feels tears stinging in his eyes and he tries his best to blink them back. 

“What are you trying to tell me, Jungkook?” Yoongi repeats himself, this time with more authority than before.

“I fucked up, hyung, bad.” 

“Jungkook!”

“I think I’m the one who got him pregnant.” When he finally gets the courage to look up at his brother, Jungkook feels his heart stop with fear. Suddenly he can’t breathe and there’s a lump in his throat the size of a planet.

“Get out of my sight, Jungkook. I can’t even look at you right now, get out of my bedroom.”

“Yoongi-”

“I said to get the fuck out.” Yoongi is stiff, nostrils flared as he tries to control his breathing. 

How could his little kid brother do something so stupid? Had he not learned from Yoongi’s own mistakes? The elder is livid beyond belief and for the first time in his life, he wants to beat his little brother to a pulp. “Go.” 

So Jungkook goes. He leaves without trying to plead his case because he knows it will only fall on deaf ears right now. He needs to talk to someone about this, needs to be around someone who understands what’s happening to him, so as he rushes down the stairs and out to his car, he pulls his cell phone out and scrolls through his contacts until he finds the name he’s looking for. 

“Hey, are you able to meet me? Right now?” He asks into the phone when he gets an answer on the first ring, voice wavering as he tries to keep a level head. 

“Yeah, sure. Usual spot?”

“Sounds good.”

“See you in thirty.” 

 

 

 

 

When Jungkook arrives at the park he heads straight to a small area closed off by trees and hidden from any passerbys. He and Kyungsoo had discovered the hideaway one night when the two of them were just beginning to hang out and ever since it had become their spot. 

Kyungsoo is already there, sitting on the bench and hunched over his phone as he scrolls through his instagram feed. Jungkook lets out a small laugh because the older man still does the same old things every time. 

“Hey!” He says, startling the other who jumps in surprise at the sound of Jungkook’s voice.

“Holy shit, Jungkook, you scared me!” 

“I know, sorry!” Jungkook chuckles and as soon as he sits next to the other on the bench and Kyungsoo adjusts himself so that his feet are resting in the younger man’s lap, he notices that his mood is already better. 

When Jungkook looks at Kyungsoo, he can see the way Kyungsoo rests his hands on the barely there baby-bump. He thinks that unless you were looking for it, you wouldn’t even find it and the thought worries Jungkook. He thinks about how Hoseok didn’t show at all during his pregnancy and how sick Hyorin was when she was born.

“Is it normal for you to not be showing already? Is the baby healthy?” 

“Jungkook, I’m only four months along. Most first timers don’t start showing until about now, but it can take even longer than that. Besides, when I’m naked you can definitely see the change in my body. The doctors say everything is fine with Peanut in here, you don’t have to worry.” 

Jungkook lets out a sigh of relief. At least the doctor says the baby is okay, that’s good enough for him. 

“Do you remember what I told you? About my brother and Hoseok...and Hyorin?” 

A part of him feels guilty for sharing such a personal thing about his family to the elder man, especially when they hadn’t been together for very long, but Jungkook loved and trusted Kyungsoo when he decided to open up and another small part of him is glad that he did.

“Are you talking about the time Hoseok was pregnant and no one knew?” Kyungsoo asks sadly and Jungkook nods. He can see the pity written across his ex’s face and he wonders if he wears that look when he thinks about his niece.

When Jungkook thinks back to four years ago all he remembers is pain. He remembers burying his mother and watching his brother go into a downward spiral, unable to do anything to help. Yoongi and Hoseok did way too many drugs and drank so often that even Yoongi’s father, a man Jungkook never even knew of until then, stepped in to try and help his son. Jungkook doesn’t blame his brother, though, because losing their mother was the hardest thing they’d been through, yet. 

Shortly after their mother’s passing, Jungkook remembers very clearly the day that he and Yoongi found Hoseok passed out on the bathroom floor in a pool of his own vomit and hardly any pulse. It was the second time Jungkook had ever seen his brother cry, the first time being after their mother’s funeral. The third time Jungkook saw Yoongi cry was only a few hours later, when the doctors informed him that Hoseok was pregnant and it was unlikely that he or the baby would make it. They did make it, though, and when Hoseok came to and the doctors told him about the brain damage their child had suffered, he and Yoongi made the decision to give her to a family that could take the best care of her. At the time Jungkook thought it was the best idea. How could his brother raise a child, especially one with special needs? 

Jungkook thinks about Hyorin when he looks at Kyungsoo. He wonders how his brother feels to know that his daughter is being raised by someone else because the thought of Jongin, Kim Jongin the drug dealer and abusive asshole, raising Jungkook’s child makes him angry. He can’t stomach the thought of Jongin hurting his son or daughter and it makes him physically sick to know that it’s a very real possibility.

“If the baby is mine, I don’t want Jongin to raise them.” 

Kyungsoo’s eyebrows knit together in confusion and he tilts his head. They’d talked about this very briefly, neither wanting to actually sit down and have the difficult conversation of what to do if and when the time comes, but it catches Kyungsoo off guard either way.

“What do you mean? Where is this coming from?”

“I don’t want a stranger raising my kid.” Jungkook says firmly. “I don’t want to be like my brother and Hoseok, who have to fight every few months because they feel guilty about giving up their child all because they didn’t think they could handle it. I don’t want to live in regret or be like my own dad who never really knew his own son.” 

“Jungkook, you realize that this is different right? It’s not like you’re throwing your kid away, Jongin will be an amazing father-”

“Oh yeah? You think amazing fathers beat their children?”

“He would never hurt the baby, Jungkook. Don’t be ridiculous. He hasn’t done anything to me since we found out.”

“And you think that’s going to last forever?” Jungkook’s patience is wearing thin, but he can see that Kyungsoo’s is, as well.

“Well, then what? If the baby is yours what are you going to do? Are you going to give me a place to stay in case Jongin flips out and tries to fucking kill me and our kid? Are you going to help support me and this child? Did you even think about the fact that maybe this is for the best? Jongin may not have a corporate straight edge job, but he can provide for this kid. He makes more money than most people who finish college and work their asses off. You know what he’ll do to me if he finds out about this? What he’ll do to you?” The look in the older man’s eyes has Jungkook’s heart softening. “Jungkook, look, I don’t even know if this baby is yours or if it’s his. What I do know is that it’s my child and that I’m going to do everything in my power to make sure that this baby is taken care of and protected. You can’t offer me that-”

“Yes, I can. If it’s my kid then you can live at the house with me and my brother.”

“Yeah, that’ll work out just great. I can already see Yoongi trying to poison my dinner.” 

Jungkook shakes his head and holds a hand out to stop the other from continuing.

“No, that’s not true! If the baby isn’t mine, you don’t ever have to tell Jongin, okay? You can pretend that this never happened, but if it is I want to take care of it and I’ll do everything in my power to make sure that he or she is happy and healthy.” 

“Jongin will leave me if he finds out the baby is yours.” Kyungsoo says as he brings his hands to his face. “I don’t want to do this alone.”

“And you won’t be! I told you if they’re mine I’ll do everything in my power to take care of them.” 

“You say that now, Jungkook, but are you even ready for this? Staying up until five AM to change diapers and make bottles? Do you think you can afford the endless amounts of baby formula and clothing we’ll need? What about daycare?” 

“I’ll make it work.” Jungkook says with a look of determination in his eyes. 

“What about Jongin?”

“What about him?” 

“I love him, I really do.” The elder of the two rubs his temples and Jungkook sighs. “I don’t want him to leave me, I love him so much.” 

“Kyungsoo, if he loves you then he won’t leave you...but he’s a piece of shit.” The barback doesn’t understand why Kyungsoo cares so much about the younger man. How can Kyungsoo still be with the person who hurts him the most? It makes no sense. “And it’s like you said, the baby is yours...and if it’s mine I have a right to see him or her just as much as you do.” 

Kyungsoo sighs and glances up at the sky, forehead creased in worry. 

“Can I have time to think about this? I need to figure everything out.”

“Okay, yeah, of course...but I just want you to know I’m not going to stand by-”

“I know, Jungkook.” Kyungsoo says with a roll of his eyes. A small smile tugs on the corner of his lips as he thinks of a way to change the subject. “How does your new boyfriend feel about you maybe having a kid?”

The word boyfriend makes Jungkook's stomach do somersaults. He feels his face heat up and his lips twitch as he tries to fight a smile. He would love for Jimin to be his boyfriend. 

“I don’t know, but as much as I like him, if the baby is mine then he’s going to have to deal with it because I’m raising that kid.” He points to Kyungsoo’s stomach with a grin. 

Kyungsoo’s laugh is light and Jungkook notes the way his eyes turn into small crescents and his shoulders shake. That used to be one of Jungkook’s favorite things, how beautifully Kyungsoo laughs, but now it only serves to remind him of Jimin’s soft giggles behind his hands or the way he throws his head back when he laughs from his belly. The thought brings a smile to his face and he finds himself missing Jimin even after only a few hours.

Jimin, even though he’s only known Jungkook for a short period of time, has woven his way into the other’s thoughts permanently and Jungkook’s heart soars at the prospect of seeing him again. He glances over at Kyungsoo and chews on his lower lip in thought because he doesn’t want to lose his unborn child or Jimin in the process of trying to figure out how their lives will all fit together. 

All he can do is hope that things work out for the best. 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I feel like I've lost my writing mojo more than I've gained it back if that makes sense lol  
> Now that the semester is over I'm hoping for more updates.  
> So I know this chapter wasn't very Jikook focused (at all), but it was moreso to give you some insight into Jungkook's life and the things he's seen/been through. Thank you for sticking with this story if you're still reading it, though <3!!!


	6. And I Know I Need To Change

Kyungsoo, regardless of what anyone may think, does care for both Jongin and Jungkook. 

While Jongin is red-hot with a temper that can’t be contained, Jungkook is the cool ice that heals his burns. Jongin always has a handful of hurtful comments ready and harsh slaps to the face when something goes wrong while Jungkook is all smiles and full of compliments ranging from _ ‘That’s a nice shirt’ _ to _ ‘Wow, you’re the most beautiful thing I’ve ever seen’.  _ That’s why Kyungsoo’s heart strayed from Jongin in the first place, the way that Jungkook doted on Kyungsoo hand and foot was  _ nice. _ More than nice, actually, it made Kyungsoo feel like a human again. It made him feel like less of a failure. Despite how sweet Jungkook was, though, Kyungsoo knew his heart would always find it’s way back to Kim Jongin. Kim Jongin who hurts him in every sense of the word, Kim Jongin who tears him down just to build him back up and repeat the process, Kim Jongin who takes and takes and takes, but never wants to give.

And it was wrong for Kyungsoo to hurt Jungkook like he did. It was wrong to play him, it was wrong to pretend that he had left Jongin, but _God,_ it felt so good to be treated like he mattered. It felt amazing to hear words of love and praise fall from Jungkook’s lips every night before they went to bed. It felt like he was walking on clouds to know that Jungkook loved him, truly loved him, even if it was for a short time. And Kyungsoo is so selfish because he yearns for that feeling again, the feeling of being appreciated and cared for. 

Although it may seem otherwise, Kyungsoo does love Jungkook. He just doesn’t know if it’s actually Jungkook or the idea of Jungkook that he loves, but it’s there. Rooted deep into his heart is a spot for the younger man that no one else will be able to take away. Or maybe, he thinks, maybe he’s just in love with the thought that someone could love him regardless of his shortcomings as a person, but no that can’t be the case. That would mean Kyungsoo was even more of a horrible person than he already thought. Kyungsoo remembers crying on the phone with Jongdae one night, pouring his heart out to the older man as he tried to figure out just what was going on in his life. He loves Jongin, so much, but he also loves Jungkook, at least to an extent. Kyungsoo remembers how Jongdae laughed off the guilt and he could hear the smirk in his best friend’s voice when he said: ‘Kyungsoo, seriously? You love Jongin, and that’s fine, and you love- er, do you really? You love him? Jungkook...right? It’s okay, everyone has to keep someone in their back pocket. Just in case, right? Keep Jungkook in your back pocket’.

So Kyungsoo did just that, he let Jungkook take care of him and treat him like a prince at night while taking the time to see Jongin during the day and trying his best to keep the two of them as far away from each other as possible. But every action has a consequence and Kyungsoo is kicking himself because now he’s in a spot where he doesn’t know who the father of his child is and both of the men he cares about are hurt. Kyungsoo never thought he’d be the cause of Jongin or Jungkook’s pain, but here he is now wishing that he’d been better to them. He wishes he’d never put himself in a situation like this, but now that he’s here he thinks he deserves every ounce of pain he feels.

It’s at the beginning of his first shift working alone, when the managers are handing out everyone’s opening registers, that Yoongi slaps Kyungsoo with the realization of just how big of a mistake he’s made.

“Okay, guys. Let’s have a good shift, everyone be on your best behavior.” The man says as he wraps up the pre-shift meeting. As the rest of the employees are shuffling out of the office to start the shift, he stops the pregnant man in his tracks. “Kyungsoo, stay behind please. Namjoon, you too.” 

Namjoon nods and stays seated and Kyungsoo wonders if he’s going to be fired before he ever actually starts the job. Both of the managers look at Kyungsoo with what he can only assume is resentment. He understands because both of them love Jungkook so much, Kyungsoo knows that they’d all been through the worst together and that Yoongi and Namjoon did their best to keep Jungkook unscathed. Kyungsoo also knows that they would still, to this day, do anything for Jungkook, so he braces himself.

“Yes?” 

“How far along are you?” Namjoon asks bluntly, staring straight down at Kyungsoo’s stomach.

It feels like the managers are judging his every move and without realizing it, his hand flies to his stomach. He’s only a little surprised at the question, Jungkook mentioned to him that he’d told Yoongi about their situation and he was expecting this conversation at some point.

“Excuse me?” 

“He asked how far along you are.” Yoongi bites out.

“Seventeen weeks, just over the four month mark.” 

“Do you know what you’re having?” Namjoon asks and Kyungsoo shakes his head.

“I went in for a sonogram last week, but the baby wouldn’t let us get a good look.” 

Yoongi swallows the lump in his throat. He hates talking about babies, he actively avoids all conversation that surrounds them, but now that his little brother is involved in a situation like this he’s forced to. He sees the sympathetic look that flashes across Kyungsoo’s face and he wonders if he’s just paranoid or if the barely older man knows what’s going on in his head. 

“Has my brother been giving you money?”

“Sometimes, yes. He’ll buy me dinner or give me money to buy things for the baby.” 

“We’re going to pay for you to take a DNA test when the baby is born. I’ve spoken with Jungkook and, even though I disagree with this, if the baby is his we’re going to ask for joint custody. I may not have all the money in the world, but if my little brother wants to be in that child’s life you have no right to refuse him. I will pay every cent I have to to make sure that he has his kid.” 

It’s all a little hypocritical of Yoongi to push so hard for Jungkook to see his child when he couldn’t even do that for his own. Kyungsoo’s jaw tenses and his lip twitches.

“Jungkook said he would give me time to figure things out.”

“I know he did, and he has given you time. You still haven’t given him an answer, but I also know that you’ll just continue to drag this on forever and I’m not going to let that happen. If the baby belongs to my brother then you’re going to let him see them. We  _ will  _ take you to court if you refuse.” 

Namjoon stands up from his spot and adjusts his tie.

“And if we need to take other measures beyond court to deal with Jongin, you know we have our way of doing that, as well.” 

Kyungsoo watches as Yoongi nods and pats his hip, moving his jacket just enough to reveal the gun he keeps on him at all times. It’s a non-verbal threat, but it’s not one that Kyungsoo takes lightly. He knows just what Jungkook’s family is capable of, he saw firsthand just how easily Namjoon and Yoongi both drew their guns on Jongin. There was no hesitation in their eyes to shoot and if Jongin hadn’t backed off he thinks his boyfriend would have be dead. 

 

 

 

 

Jimin and Jungkook sit cross legged in the younger man’s living room, facing each other as they answer a list of questions Jungkook had printed out from the internet. Originally the two of them were supposed to be going out on a date, but Jimin’s inability to keep his lips off of Jungkook’s caused them to miss their reservation. Instead of going somewhere else, the two of them ordered pizza and looked up ‘questions to ask your partner’ online.

“What happened the last time you cried?” Jungkook asks and Jimin hums. 

“I cried last night. I got drunk at work and Mark wouldn’t show me pictures of Aiden, so  _ obviously  _ I bawled my eyes out.” The older man giggles behind his hand. “What about you?”

“I cried the other day because of my brother and Hoseok.” Jungkook says honestly and Jimin frowns.

“Oh, yeah. Are they better now?”

“Yeah, they’re fine. It’s like Seokjin told you, they fight every few months over something that happened a few years ago. I don’t think they’ll ever really be able to get over it, but when they argue like that I hurt for them, you know? They both deserve to be happy.” 

Jimin nods at that and looks down at the sheet of paper, he resists the urge to press Jungkook on the matter and instead reads the next question. Jungkook will come around and tell him when he’s ready and Jimin thinks he can wait as long as he has to. 

“What is one thing that you’ll be most disappointed about if you never experience it?”

“Raising my kid.” Jungkook answers honestly and Jimin freezes in place. Right. The kid. The kid that Kyungsoo is pregnant with. The kid that may be Jungkook’s.  _ The kid.  _ “If it’s mine I don’t want to feel any regret of giving him or her up. I don’t want someone else raising my baby and I don’t want to risk my baby being hurt because I was selfish.”

“That’s very...nice of you.” Jimin says softly and Jungkook scratches the back of his neck. 

“I don’t think it’s  _ nice, _ I think it’s the right thing to do. Even if I’m scared or freaking out, I have to accept my responsibility.” Jungkook looks down at his hands. “What do you think about all of this? We haven’t really talked much about it, but I feel like now that you and Kyungsoo have met...it’s a little more real, isn’t it?” 

Jimin couldn’t have said it better himself. Before he thought he was fine with the idea of Jungkook having a kid. It’s not like the younger man asked Jimin to be the step-father to his child, hell, Jimin doesn’t even know if Jungkook would let him meet the baby. And Jimin doesn’t know if he would even  _ want  _ to meet the baby because they’re still in such an early stage of dating. They’re still so fresh that Jimin doesn’t even have the right to put his two cents in on the situation. Now that he’s met Kyungsoo, though, the idea is almost tangible. Jimin knows that Kyungsoo is a real person and there is a real life growing inside of him and if he’s being completely honest, it scares him. So he says just that.

“Honestly...I’m a little freaked out. What if you and Kyungsoo decide you want to be together for the sake of the baby in the end? What if...what if you see the kid and it does end up being yours and you just- I don’t know, fall in love with Kyungsoo all over again because of this tiny little human you two created together? It’s terrifying to think that I can lose you when we’re just starting this out.” The other man waves his hand between the two of them. “I like us and I like what we have, but you’re right. Meeting Kyungsoo did make it more real and I’m intimidated by him. He’s gorgeous and he could be having your baby and I don’t even know where I fit into the picture.” 

Jungkook nods at that, he reaches out to grab Jimin’s hand and gives it a squeeze.

“You fit right here. With me.” He smiles and Jimin can’t help, but to smile back. “I told you already, Kyungsoo and I are never going to be a thing again. If the baby is mine then, yeah, he’ll be in my life forever, but that doesn’t mean that there’s less space for you. He has Jongin, he’s had Jongin this entire time and I was the idiot who thought that there was something special there, but there wasn’t and I see that now. And if the baby comes and it is mine, of course I’m going to love that kid and of course I’m going to do everything I can to take care of him or her, but that doesn’t mean I’m going to just drop you. As long as you want to be in my life then you’re welcome to be. I like you so much, you make me so happy and I feel so good when I’m with you. I don’t want to lose that... _ but  _ I also understand that dating someone with a kid isn’t everyone’s cup of tea and you’re totally allowed to pull out of this if you want. I told you that from the beginning.” 

Jimin knows he looks like a total fool with a smile that takes up his entire face, but he doesn’t care. And when Jungkook says it’s his turn to answer the question  _ ‘What is one thing that you’ll be most disappointed about if you never experience it?’  _ he leans forward to press a soft kiss to Jungkook’s lips and says:

“Being with you.” 

 

 

 

 

 

 

It’s three in the morning when Jimin is woken up by the sound of Jungkook’s phone going off. IU’s voice fills the room and Jimin winces as he blindly reaches out for the phone to silence it. He presses the volume button, which effectively mutes the ringer, and throws it back down onto the side table. The phone rings again, though, and Jimin groans because who on Earth calls this late? He huffs as he checks the caller ID and scrunches up his nose when he sees that it’s none other than Kyungsoo. He has half a mind to answer the phone and tell the other man to fuck off because there’s no way he’s calling about something baby-related at three AM, but he doesn’t. Instead he silences the phone again and lets out a heavy sigh. The third time it rings, Jimin has finally had enough. He shakes Jungkook awake and slaps the phone to the taller man’s chest with a grunt. Jungkook looks down at him, confused for a moment, before answering the call.

“Hello?” He asks into the phone. All he gets back is the sound of Kyungsoo crying into the phone. “Soo? What’s wrong with you? Why are you crying?”

“You’re such an asshole.” Kyungsoo screams into the phone, so loud that Jimin can hear him. 

“What? Why? What did I do?”

“You think sending your brother to scare me is going to fucking work? You think I’m afraid of him?!” 

It’s obvious Kyungsoo is afraid of Yoongi. He wouldn’t be crying to Jungkook if he wasn’t, but the barback keeps that thought to himself. 

“What do you mean? Did Yoongi do something?” Jungkook furrows his eyebrows and Jimin sits up. 

_ Oh.  _ Well, this is interesting now.

“He threatened me! He threatened me and Jongin. I told you to give me time, Jungkook, I told you I needed to figure things out! How could you do this to me? I expect this shit from Jongin, but from you?” Kyungsoo’s sobs leak out of the speaker and into Jungkook’s ear and a part of him feels bad, but another part of him feels angry.

“What is that even supposed to mean?” Jungkook bites back. “I didn’t send my brother after you. We talked about this Kyungsoo, I told you I’d give you time to figure it out.”

“Then why is Yoongi telling me you guys are going to take me to court or fucking kill Jongin? Huh?” 

Jungkook falls silent at that. He’d discussed taking Kyungsoo to court with Yoongi, only if necessary, but he’d never said anything about hurting Jongin. He would never ask his brother to do anything of the sort. 

“Soo…” He starts, but the older man cuts him off.

“Fuck you! Don’t ever threaten my family again!” That’s the final thing the pregnant man says before he hangs up. 

Jungkook stares down at his phone, confused, before throwing his legs over the bed and making his way to his brother’s room. He bangs on the door until Hoseok answers sleepily, one hand holding his head and the other on his hip.

“What’s going on, little one?” Hoseok asks and Jungkook’s eye twitches.

“Where is my brother?”

“He’s not home from work, yet. What’s wrong?” Hoseok is much more alert now, panic starting to form in his stomach at the expression Jungkook wears. 

“Yoongi threatened Kyungsoo!” The barback screeches. “Why the fuck would he think that’s okay?!” 

“What do you mean he threatened Kyungsoo?” 

“Exactly what I said! Now he’s pissed at me! I need things to go as smoothly with him as possible Hoseok, do you get that? Tell my brother to stay the fuck out of my business if he’s going to act like this!” 

“If I’m going to act like what?” Yoongi’s voice comes from behind them as he ascends the stairs. Hoseok glances between the brothers before shrugging his shoulders and waving a hand for Jungkook to continue.

“Don’t get involved with me and Kyungsoo, Yoongi.” The younger brother growls.

Yoongi scoffs and raises an eyebrow as he places his hands on his hips.

“Oh? And why shouldn’t I? You’re my little brother, I’m taking care of you.” 

“Taking care of me?! Is that what you call this? Threatening the father of my child and his boyfriend because you don’t like them?” 

“I didn’t threaten them. I told him that because he was taking his time that if he couldn’t come to a conclusion about what to do, then the courts will help us make a decision for him. I don’t see how that’s threatening.”

“And saying you’re going to kill Jongin?”

“I never said that. He assumed that’s what I meant when I said we could handle it out of the courts if need be.” 

Yoongi says it so nonchalantly, as if he isn’t talking about taking someone’s life. Sometimes Jungkook forgets how ruthless his brother can be.

“Just let me fucking handle it!” Jungkook screams and Yoongi laughs at that.

“No, no I won’t let you ‘fucking handle it’, Jungkook. Do you realize what situation you’ve put yourself and the rest of this family in? I pay most of your bills here, I take care of you and everyone else in this home and I have since we were kids. I have to clean up your fucking mess here, so you don’t get to tell me to stay out of it. You don’t get to yell and throw a fit because I nipped this problem in the bud. You clearly don’t know what the fuck you’re doing if you couldn’t even wear protection in the first place! All of this could have been prevented-  _ should have _ been prevented, but you don’t learn, do you? Do you think this is a  joke? You think this is a game? Because this is someone’s life, a child’s life, on the line and you want to raise it. I told you that I would do what I can to help you if the baby is yours and this is how you’re acting?” 

Jungkook opens his mouth to speak, but he’s cut off by Jimin interrupting them.

“Uhm- Jungkook, Kyungsoo is calling you again.” 

“Ignore it.” Jungkook mumbles. “We’re both too angry to talk to one another right now.”

“Did I give you permission to have guests over?” Yoongi asks, arms crossed and hip cocked. 

Jungkook gawks at him. He tries to process what his brother just said.

“Since when do I need to ask you for permission to have guests over?”

“Since you knocked someone up, that’s when!” 

“Jimin and I haven’t even had sex!” 

“That’s what you told us for the past year and here you are with a seventeen week old baby growing inside of someone, so pardon me if I don’t trust your word.”

“Why are you being like this, hyung? You’re being crazy! Just because you feel regret about what you did to your kid doesn’t mean you can treat Kyungsoo like this-”

“Stop right there, Jungkook.” Yoongi closes his eyes and counts backwards from ten. He’s going to blow up at any moment and he doesn’t want a stranger around to see it. “Jimin, I’m sorry, but I’m going to have to ask you to leave. Jungkook didn’t ask me if he could have guests over and right now I don’t think it’s a good idea for you to be here.”

“You can’t kick him out, I pay rent here!” 

“And I pay the water, the gas, the electricity, the cable, and your car insurance, so I don’t give a fuck how much money you pay in rent. Your friend is leaving.”

“I can go.” Jimin says quietly. “Just...let me grab my stuff.” 

Jungkook follows Jimin back to his bedroom as the smaller man gathers his things. There is an awkward air around them and Jungkook feels nothing, but pure mortification. 

“Can I go with you? To your place?” He asks softly and Jimin looks up at him with wide eyes.

“Do you think that’s a good idea? I don’t want your brother to be even angrier with you.” 

“Fuck him.” Jungkook spits out and it shocks him at how easily the words fall from his lips.

He and Yoongi never fight and Jungkook has never even thought a negative thing about his older brother. Yoongi had always worked so hard to take care of Jungkook that the younger man never held anything against him. He thinks of the things he said earlier and it makes his insides churn, he shouldn’t have attacked his brother like that and he’s already starting to feel the guilt seep into his stomach. 

“You can stay with me tonight...maybe it will help, actually.” Jimin whispers as he brings his hands to Jungkook’s face. Gently, he pulls the other down into a soft kiss and smiles. “You both just need to cool off, you’ll be fine in the morning.”

Jungkook nods before throwing an overnight bag together and following Jimin out of the room. His brother and Hoseok have already gone back to their room and Jungkook thinks is better if he doesn’t say anything to them as he leaves. 

 

 

 

Jungkook has only been to Jimin’s apartment once before and that was just to pick him up, so when he actually steps inside the older man’s home he takes in every single detail. The apartment is small, everything is clean and modern with minimal furniture and decoration. Jungkook thinks back to when he, Yoongi, and their mother shared a small one bedroom apartment that was the same size and how tacky it looked in comparison. 

“C’mon.” Jimin mumbles, grabbing Jungkook’s hand and leading him to his bedroom. “I’ll give you the tour tomorrow, but for now I’m sleepy.”

Jimin’s bed is much more comfortable than his own, Jungkook thinks. It’s smaller so they have to press their bodies together, but that’s perfectly fine for the two of them. Jimin falls asleep almost instantly, but Jungkook isn’t tired anymore. Instead of trying to will himself to sleep, he plants kisses on Jimin’s forehead every now and then and studies the smaller man’s face. 

Things may be hard right now, but if Jungkook can just lay with Jimin like this for just a little while longer he thinks that he can take on anything. 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Jk is that emo kid that yells 'you can't control my life, dad" @ Yoongi tbh  
> More Jikook moments coming up, I promise. :')


End file.
